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Stop Teaching Slavery During Black History Month

Why Celebrating Black History and Culture Deserves Its Own Shine

Hey beautiful people, All this week on The Teacher Lady Show, we’ve been diving deep into something that matters — how to celebrate Black history and Black culture, and why it absolutely deserves its own spotlight, separate from racism and slavery.

This isn’t just a topic for educators. It’s for parents, caregivers, aunties, uncles, play cousins — anyone raising or teaching little ones with love. So if your child is getting restless, send them over to the Read-Alouds playlist titled The Teacher Lady Reads (they’ll love it). But if you’re ready to grow, grab your tea and let’s talk.

The Heart of the Matter: Celebration vs. Suffering

This week we featured two powerful picture books: To Celebrate Black History:

  • What Would the World Be Without Black People? — written and illustrated by me, Erica M. Burrell. A story packed with joy, pride, and a dash of reality. Inspired by a true incident To Teach Racism and Slavery:


  • An American Story by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Dare Coulter — an honest, poetic journey through slavery and survival.

These books gave us the perfect starting point to have real conversations with our kids. On The Teacher Lady Show, we paired each one with an in-depth Behind the Book episode to help grown folks use them well. And all of it led us to this truth: slavery and racism are not the same as Black history and culture. We have to stop teaching them like they are.

A Kid-Friendly Analogy: The Birthday Party

Here’s how I explain it to little ones:

“Imagine it’s your birthday. The whole room is decorated, you’re in your favorite outfit, and it’s supposed to be your celebration. But every person who grabs the mic keeps talking about the worst things that ever happened to you — the bullying, the tears, the moments you were scared and alone. That doesn’t feel like a celebration, does it?”

That’s what it’s like when we say we’re celebrating Black history — but only talk about pain.

Language Matters: Define the Terms

Let’s get real clear:

  • Black History is the story of Black people in America — their leadership, creativity, resistance, and brilliance. That’s worth celebrating.

  • Black Culture is the rhythm, the sauce, the traditions — from hoop earrings to head wraps, the electric slide to Jordan sneakers, Sunday church service that never ends to spoken word. It’s what makes us us.

  • Racism is the ongoing mistreatment of people because they’re Black. Still happening. Still real.

  • Slavery was a brutal system built on racism — kidnapping, forced labor, and dehumanization.

And here’s the key:Slavery is American history. Black history is how we survived and thrived anyway .Don’t confuse the two.

What’s Really Being Taught In Schools?

Depending on where you live, your child might not be learning any of this. In California, there’s no K–8 mandate to teach about racism or slavery — just soft suggestions. In Texas, it’s even worse. There are laws prohibiting teachers from saying slavery or racism are foundational to U.S. history.

Meanwhile, children are being handed worksheets with questions like, “What do you think Henry ‘Box’ Brown thought about while he was trapped in a box?”What?! No, baby. We’re not doing that.

For the Educators and Grown Folks Trying to Do Right

Let me break this down:

✅ Celebrating Black history means talking about inventors, artists, leaders, and changemakers — and how they moved the world forward.✅ Celebrating Black culture means making space for joy, food, rhythm, resilience, and brilliance.🚫 Conflating that with slavery erases the joy and centers only pain.🚫 Teaching about slavery during celebration without context, care, or truth is harmful — especially to our littles.

Raise Black Kids on Purpose

If you’re raising a Black child — especially as a non-Black parent — you need to be intentional.

  • Celebrate who they are. Every day.

  • Connect them to their community. Find the Black barbershop. The Black church. The dance team. The hair salon.

  • Learn what you don’t know. Books. Workshops. Community.

This cannot be a passive parenting experience. Their identity is beautiful, and the world will try to convince them otherwise. Your job is to remind them who they are — on purpose, every day.

When to Get Help

If your child begins to express self-hate, withdraw from their culture, or speak negatively about themselves or others based on race — get support.

Talk to counselors.Find community-based orgs.Reach out to trusted elders.It takes a village. Really.

For the Teachers Who’ve Been Asking…

You might’ve heard this before:“But why do we need a whole month? We don’t have White History Month!”

Right — because that’s called January through December.White-centered history is already the norm. Black history needs intention. Until representation is normalized in every classroom, in every subject, Black history needs its own space.

And no, “diversity” isn’t enough. “BIPOC” isn’t the same. Black stories are not interchangeable with every other marginalized group. Be specific. Be respectful. Be accurate.

Do the Work

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start here:

📚 Books:

🌍 Websites to Explore:

💌 Newsletter:I’ll be sharing more resources weekly, so sign up and stay connected.

As an author, illustrator, and literacy advocate, I created The Empathy Library — a pay-it-forward book program. When you buy a book it gets sent to a child who needs it. That’s how we build community and make sure joyful, diverse stories reach every child.

Thank you for growing with me this week.Thank you for choosing celebration over suffering.Thank you for seeing the beauty in Blackness.

And as always:Enjoy the moment, or go be a joy in the moment.


 
 
 

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