Help me give my students these Black History shirts so that my second graders can see themselves as beautiful shades of brown in bright colors as they learn about the symbols and colors of their heritage and identity.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Educating the young girls at WGLA, inspires me because a large majority of the population is African American. However, they know very little about their African American heritage. They have learned about influential people like Dr. Martin Luther King and our 44th President Barack Obama. Yet, there are so many things about their Black culture that is often viewed as a negative stigmatism. For instance, some students of color feel ashamed to wear their natural kinky curly hair, so they insist on perming it, putting on wigs, or long hair extension to be socially accepted. Despite the black literature about little girls, our girls still struggle with their self-esteem, self-worth, and their natural born identity.
My Project
In the past, each year I purchased “Black History” shirts and accessories to promote self-awareness and pride for the girls in my class. This year has been a challenge because I purchase additional sanitation items like wipes, tissue, and paper towels to help keep our classroom clean each day. The school does provide some of these items, but often some items are on back order. Additionally, many of the parents cannot afford to purchase a shirts and accessories for their child because they struggle with providing the bare necessities. In the past, when the girls wore their “Black History” shirt and accessories, it instilled a sense of pride, dignity, and unity within the school environment.
John Lewis quoted, "Take a long, hard look down the road you will have to travel once you have made a commitment to work for change.
Know that this transformation will not happen right away. Change often takes time. It rarely happens all at once. In the movement, we didn't know how history would play itself out. When we were getting arrested and waiting in jail or standing in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps, we didn’t know what would happen, but we knew it had to happen." Our little Black girls need to learn that their rich Black heritage was and still is full of adversities that they will encounter as some point in their lives. On the other hand, they need to learn that their Black heritage is colorful, full of enchanted words, expressive rhythm, and dance. These “Black History” shirts and accessories will be precious momentums that these little girls will cherish now and, in the years, to come as they learn more about their heritage.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Dobbins and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
