Schools across the country are celebrating Black History Month, as they should. But one North Carolina school chose to honor Black people and their historic contributions to America by putting up “decorations” that truly pissed off a lot of people in the community.
Photos from Charlotte West High School show two doors displaying “colored entrance” and “white entrance.” Above the doors, a sign read, “Sears Department Store 1930,” recalling a time when Black people and white people in this country weren’t allowed to use the same doors, bathroom, or even water fountains.
While this display was most likely used as an attempt to teach students about what segregation was like during the early to mid-1900s, it didn’t go over well with the school district.
In a statement sent to WCCB-TV, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said:
“The school district is required to provide social studies and history lessons to all our students in an age-appropriate manner. Teachers at West Charlotte High School decorated doors that displayed inappropriate content. The activity is not aligned to State Standards or with CMS curriculum and approved lesson plans.
Once school leadership was made aware of the doors, the displays were immediately removed. This happened over the course of a few hours in one school day on February 14, 2024.
Moving forward, the district’s teachers will be retrained in the specific social studies curriculum practices that can be utilized in lesson plans to teach students.”
While this may not the best way to teach students about Black History Month, schools in the past have done a much worse job.
Earlier this month, a Miami school was under fire after they sent notices to parents, asking them to sign off on whether they want their children to “participate” in Black History Month.
Must we forget that a food vendor went the stereotypical route and served chicken, waffles, and watermelon to students at a New York Middle School?
And about a year ago a California middle school took its time reporting an incident where multiple students handed out cotton balls to Black students to celebrate BHM.
Really?! There are so many other ways to celebrate Black History. Schools, please, take note.