BLACK HISTORY MONTH
‘We need to celebrate the untold’
Kyle — Having tough but much-needed conversations will encourage progress and create peace, which is the idea behind Kyle’s triannual dialogue series.
The city hosted its third Black History Month Dialogue for Peace and Progress on Feb. 17 at Kyle City Hall. The dialogue series aims to join the community and local leaders together for open and honest conversations to raise awareness and facilitate change in Kyle and beyond. Along with Black History Month, the city hosts the series for Juneteenth and Hispanic Heritage Month.
This year’s panelists included a range of generational and cultural perspectives: Lehman High School students Rebecca Marquez and Kahlen Barnes; higher education professionals Mark Trahan and April Barnes; deputy juvenile public defender for Travis County Rubén Castañeda; former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Director Wilma L. Javey; and Central Texas AMVETS Post 115 Chaplain Kenneth Bell. The panel was moderated by Kyle Arts and Cultural Commission Chair Vanessa Westbrook.
In addition to a robust discussion on all things Black history, the panel touched on current events and shared information about relevant topics like critical race theory and The 1619 Project, an ongoing initiative from the New York Times to tell the over 400-year-old story of slavery in the United States.
As with the other dialogues in the series, panelists were given paddles with “I choose to speak” on one side and “I choose to listen” on the other, which they used to indicate if they wanted to participate in the discussion or be an active listener.
Community members in the audience and online were also able to participate. Using the app Mentimeter, they shared things like who their biggest inspiration is when celebrating the history of African Americans and what cultural stereotypes have been perpetuated about them.
Each year, a theme is chosen for Black History Month. This year’s theme is Black Resistance and it played a pivotal role in the panel’s discussion.
“When I read the theme, it made me think about how strong African Americans are and how long we’ve been fighting to receive freedom and equal treatment,” Javey said. “I thought about how resistance started even when they were first placed on the ship. Some of the enslaved people were so opposed to their oppression that they would just jump off. They would rather jump into the ocean and drown than be enslaved. Even the ones that were forced to come here, they resisted by uprisings; they escaped … When we went into emancipation, there was resistance in that they would move and just leave the south ... There were mass exoduses in resistance of the treatment that they were receiving … Pre-Civil War [era], we had sit-ins, walk-ins, boycotts — all of those resisting to get the freedoms that we now have. Although there seems to be an effort to take some of those freedoms away, so that says we have to continue to resist oppressive behavior.”
Some have questioned why Black History Month is still celebrated and recognized federally in the 21st century, prompting the panel to delve into its importance on both a societal and personal level.
“We must,” Castañeda said.
“If we want to live up to the ideals that this country says that it has, then we must celebrate Black History Month and celebrate it all year. We need to celebrate the untold — the millions of enslaved people who toiled who put in work.
They were not ‘involuntarily relocated.’ They were enslaved. This is the wealthiest country in the world. Our country’s wealth is based in large part on the stolen labor of these enslaved Africans … The prosperity that Americans have now is built in large part on the backs of the enslaved Africans and we need to recognize and appreciate that in addition to celebrating it.”
“Not only do we want to reflect and look back, it’s also motivational,” added April Barnes. “History is being made every day. Sometimes it’s empowering to look back and reflect on what you’re capable of. Schools don’t always tell you. The media doesn’t always tell you. Your friends don’t always tell you. We can pull that motivation by looking back at whose shoulders we stand upon by seeing it all the time, to know that Black history is not just something that was in the 1800s … History is yesterday and some of the things that we are doing now are what they’re going to talk about later on. So I look at it as an opportunity to learn and to grow and not only just be motivated myself but also to motivate others.”
Still, many academic spaces still do not seem to be equipped to teach students about Black history. Kahlen Barnes, who is a high school senior, said she wishes there was a larger spectrum of Black history incorporated into school curriculum and that having that helps her appreciate her own culture more.
“It hasn’t been as authentic as I want it to be,” she said.
“I don’t remember learning much about it in middle school or elementary school for that matter. I do remember learning about it but it wasn’t as indepth. We had a couple Black History Month programs and assemblies. Even barely in high school, this was only our second year of having a Black History Month program. I’m like, ‘Why is this only our second? Why hasn’t this been around more?’… It’s hard to be passionate about something and be so excited about something when you're the only one that can really experience that … It’s a part of America and a part of something special that we really need to go into more. I think there’s so much ground to cover and it’s not appreciated enough. I don’t think people in school that aren’t part of the Black community really understand that. They just kind of grasp it here and there, but there’s just so much that they don’t understand and don’t realize what we have to deal with.”
The livestream from the event can be viewed on the city of Kyle Facebook page and the city YouTube page. Stay tuned for the next Dialogue for Peace and Progress series, which will take place in June in honor of Juneteenth and late September or early October in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
