SELMA BURKE
Who is Dr. Selma Hortense Burke? Dr. Selma Burke was a Power-Pretty navy lady, a nurse, a model, an educator dipped in rich thick black girl magic, and an American sculptress. Oh how America have lusted after dimming the shinning light on black history. Dr. Burke was a powerful piece of strength to the Harlem Renaissance. Selma is renowned for sculpting President Franklin Roosevelt. Oh yes a black woman did that. When you look at the dime, it was designed by Dr. Selma. She survived and thrived all the Jim Crow and hate that was thrown her way. Just like you!
America has always been biased with history. European history was and still is the dominant factor within the educational curriculum. I wish I was taught about Dr. Selma Burke. It is crucial for black and brown folks to see history reflective of them. It is conducive to the soul of the black child to experience being taught by role models and images that look like them. I have nothing against any white women educators. I know lots of good teachers who are European. This is not my opinion, it is factual that white women overwhelmingly are hired to teach in black and brown communities. Why is that? It’s not like there is a shortage of black professional qualified teachers. Here is the thing. You will never ever see a majority of black women teaching in a predominately white city or suburb. So why is it like that for black communities? Revamp those policies.
If there is a community of Spanish speaking children or bilingual Latinos, there should be a majority of educators who look like them; who can speak language like them and add to their culture. It is simple. It is not hard. Black kids have had a corrupt bloodline when it comes to their history. We were brainwashed with the majority of our history glamorizing slavery. Slavery is not the only part. There are many chapters needed to be shared. If black kids had teachers brave enough to teach their kids the hidden gems of black history, that knowledge would have possibly changed their lives. I am convinced those who purposely orchestrated the educational curriculum to cater to Europeans only, knew that. Blacks refined and reclaimed their history. Thank goodness we know more than we did yesterday. We are still unpeeling new levels and making history.
America has always been biased with history. European history was and still is the dominant factor within the educational curriculum. I wish I was taught about Dr. Selma Burke. It is crucial for black and brown folks to see history reflective of them. It is conducive to the soul of the black child to experience being taught by role models and images that look like them. I have nothing against any white women educators. I know lots of good teachers who are European. This is not my opinion, it is factual that white women overwhelmingly are hired to teach in black and brown communities. Why is that? It’s not like there is a shortage of black professional qualified teachers. Here is the thing. You will never ever see a majority of black women teaching in a predominately white city or suburb. So why is it like that for black communities? Revamp those policies.
If there is a community of Spanish speaking children or bilingual Latinos, there should be a majority of educators who look like them; who can speak language like them and add to their culture. It is simple. It is not hard. Black kids have had a corrupt bloodline when it comes to their history. We were brainwashed with the majority of our history glamorizing slavery. Slavery is not the only part. There are many chapters needed to be shared. If black kids had teachers brave enough to teach their kids the hidden gems of black history, that knowledge would have possibly changed their lives. I am convinced those who purposely orchestrated the educational curriculum to cater to Europeans only, knew that. Blacks refined and reclaimed their history. Thank goodness we know more than we did yesterday. We are still unpeeling new levels and making history.
To all the black women, men, and guardians of black children, your kids are not throwaway kids. They may have issues. They may have weaknesses. We all do. They also have intelligence and some other strengths. You may have a child that has behavior problems. You probably call the child bad. If your child can draw anything you place in front of him/her, that is a gift from Yahweh (God). If your child has the gift of drawing or the Dr. Selma Burke gift of sculpting, they are not inoperable, they are unstoppable. This is why we must know our history. We must study it. It tells us there are smithereens of black excellence we can aspire to be like. It makes us feel good to know someone that looks like us did it and made it happen. It is great for our mental wellness to witness it in light of all the things we still have to fight for due to economics and skin color. Dr. Selma Burke is definitely someone our community should know about. You don't know what the creator has in store for your children's future so please share examples of their wealthy history with them.
