Black History in Green Bay

By Zola Kambandu Schilz

Despite the Black Lives Matter protests that have swept across the nation, many U.S. schools are still failing to discuss Black history within the classroom, according to experts there is no federal requirement to teach the subject and only a few states mandate it. Even then, their curriculums are shaved down versions of Black history and mostly lack a Black perspective.

Here in Green Bay, any curriculum in place explores the only bare minimum of themes. Slavery and the Civil Rights movement are talked about often, whereas subjects like Black Wall Street and Juneteenth are hardly discussed. This Black History Month the subject becomes even more important to shine light upon.

The main problem within Green Bay Schools is that Black History is not included in the pacing guide given to teachers within the district. Ms. Tosha Williams, a 5th grade teacher at Baird Elementary and a member of the Black Action Committee, explains that some teachers are not willing to teach things that are not included in the guide. 

“I teach content about Black history, but I know that I have colleagues that will not do what is notrequired, so I would like to see Black history be included in the directives from the curriculum department,” Ms. Williams said. 

If there was a section in the curriculum dedicated to learning about Black history, teachers would be more likely to cover the subject in the classroom and students would then be exposed to different cultural histories. 

There is still much importance in teaching students the raw and stripped version of the filtered history lessons they receive in schools. But much of what is being filtered out of the history textbooks are the elements containing Black American achievements. When it comes to educating students on Black history, Mr. David Wilson, a district employee and also a part of Black Action Committee, said the importance of understanding that history goes beyond what students are taught in “white-washed” textbooks. 

“All students benefit from accurate & authentic history by learning different perspectives and the contributions that others have made to society.”

David Wilson, Green Bay School District, Black Action Committee

Despite Green Bay Schools lackluster Black History curriculum, there are many opportunities to attend events in the Green Bay Area for not only students, but also educators, to learn about Black history. 

One remarkable woman, Ms. Ingrid Parker Hill, who is a district employee and was honored as one of Wisconsin’s 51 Most Influential Black Leaders in 2020 plays a part in some of the available events for students and educators. This includes events such as Read Your Heart Out, an event focused on intentionally engaging families through diversity and literacy. 

“Every child got a Black History book. The goal was for it not to be about one person. Each book had a different person, it wasn’t just MLK, it wasn’t just Rosa Parks, it was Jesse Owens,” Mrs. Parker Hill said. 

By exposing children to the wide variety of contributions made by African Americans in history, we are taking that first step towards the change we seek. 

“You can’t just do it one way. You have to go from the top and the bottom, at the same time. And then work your way up to meet,” Hill said about educating the youth.  

“Simply teaching children about Black history is not enough to see the change we need”

Ingrid Parker Hill, Family Engagement Coordinator GB School District

Emerging Student Leaders is a program run by African Heritage Incorporated. This program, which happened in February, extends its influential reach to high school students, college students and educators. It is a leadership program created to promote higher education, career exploration, and job opportunities. 

At East High School, Associate Principal Joseph Brooker is doing his part in shining light upon underrepresented icons and their achievements throughout Black History Month. Each day, Mr. Brooker sends out an email to East High School staff and students that teaches about these different icons, expanding students’ knowledge on an otherwise barely represented variety of people like Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress, and Bayard Rustin, an LGBTQ Black American who organized the March on Washington in August of 1963. 

It’s a start, but advocates say we need more.

“We got a long way to go.” says Ms. Parker Hill.