EAST LANSING — The Black American history class at East Lansing High School is a year old, and students said they like having the opportunity to learn about history in a deeper, more expansive way than offered in traditional history classes.
“I was kinda tired of learning about the same boring, basic, repetitive things,” said Lila Hardy, a junior who is Black. “I was hoping that by taking the class I would get that change.”
This is the second semester the elective class has been offered, which teachers and students say is a good sign about its potential future.
Although many Black history classes have been implemented in public high schools across the country in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, some didn’t survive because of pushback.
Civil Rights activists have expressed concerns. At the MLK Luncheon in Lansing earlier this month, civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, who was among the first Black children to integrate New Orleans schools in the 1960s, criticized efforts by schools and legislatures to erase or rewrite parts of American history.