Sam Gurwitt Photo
Dene Whitaker and Tegan Willis.
Hamden Middle School was about to enter February without any acknowledgement of Black History Month (BHM). A student and a teacher decided to change that.
As February approached, Math Specialist Tegan Willis was waiting to hear about what the school would be doing to celebrate BHM. She heard nothing. Finally, with a few hours left in January, she decided to text the principal, Michelle Coogan.
The next day, Feb. 1, she went on the school’s morning newscast and announced her challenge: Every day for the month of February, a staff member would read a quote or a fact about black history.
Dene Whitaker.
A few days later, Coogan put Willis in touch with seventh-grader Dene Whitaker, 12, who had made her own proposal for BHM.
Tegan Willis.
Around the same time Willis was wondering if the school had anything planned, Dene went out to dinner at Friendly’s with her parents as she does every Friday. As often happens at Friday dinner discussions, they were talking about African American history. During that discussion, she got the idea of doing something at her school.
Dene went home and researched prominent African Americans whom she wanted to showcase for her classmates. She reached out to Coogan, and Coogan put her in touch with Willis.
The pair put together two bulletin-board displays. The first went up on Feb. 4. Students and teachers write facts about black figures who inspire them on sheets of paper, which are then stapled to the board. The first day, there were five. As of late last week, there are 68.
At the top of each sheet of paper is a short message from Dene. “Growing up, I have always thought about why we were taught about slavery before any other part of black history,” it reads. “Everyone, even adults, can learn more about black history.”
The board now features a variety of figures, some better known, some less so. Willis wrote an entry on Lonnie Johnson, the inventor o the super soaker. The board also features other inventors, such as Alexander Miles, who invented automatically opening and closing elevator doors, and Garrett Morgan, inventor of the smoke hood.
The other bulletin board, which Dene and Willis just finished with the help of other teachers and some of Dene’s friends, contains images and short bios of prominent African Americans. For the center of each half of the board, Dene made paper busts of black women, using black construction paper curled into rounds for hair.
Willis’ entry.
Dene told the Independent that she didn’t want the displays just to have “your typical Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.” She wanted everyone to be able to find someone that had inspired them personally. For instance, some of her friends are interested in sports, so they wrote entries about black athletes.
“Our History Did Not Start In Chains”
Dene developed a passion for black history through the conversations she has about it with her parents.
“We always talk about black history,” she said of dinner conversations at home. “They always teach me about my ethnicity and the amazing stuff that should not go unnoticed.” They “don’t focus on Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King because there are so many people who are forgotten.”
Dene explained that as she grew older, her parents began to have serious conversations with her about history, introducing her to difficult topics when they decided she was ready. Racism, she said, was a big one.
Dene said that in the school curriculum, black history always starts with slavery, then touches on Martin Luther King. Yet there is so much more to learn.
“Our history did not start in chains,” she said, quoting Malcolm X. “We had kings and queens in Africa.”
Dene said she wants to learn about black history pre-slavery. She’s also interested in the blues. From the bulletin board, she read about how after the blues became popular, white people realized that they could make a profit off of it, and began to appropriate the music.
The bulletin boards have been well-received among staff and students. Kids who Dene has never met come up to her in the halls and introduce themselves. Her social studies class was originally going to focus on China in February until her teacher saw what she was doing and decided to spend the month on West Africa.
This year is just the beginning, Willis told the Independent. Next year, she said she hopes to have a much bigger display. She has also been talking to teachers about something similar for Hispanic Heritage Month in September and October.
For now, the bulletin boards will continue to grow, and the morning newscast will continue to drop new quotes and facts for students and staff. Dene said she hopes that momentum will continue, bringing a focus on black history into the rest of the year. “It shouldn’t stop. It shouldn’t be forgotten,” she said.
Kudos to Tegan Willis and Dene Whitaker for taking the initiative and doing this! But individual teachers and individual students should not have to drive this type of thing....district and school leadership should build into the school culture and curriculum.