Although every month is a good time to celebrate black history and culture, it's especially important during Black History Month. Each February, we are reminded as a nation of the black resilience, excellence, and beauty that built our country through terrible adversity, and we vow never to forget those efforts.
It's a month everyone should take seriously, but probably no one is as enthusiastic as teachers. After all, February offers us all a special opportunity to really celebrate the men and women of color who left their mark on American history — particularly in an education system that can be rather guilty of erasure.
One way teachers make sure the past is honored this month? They decorate their classroom doors with gorgeous and elaborate displays celebrating all things black culture — and you need only scroll through Instagram to see just how much they bring their A-game.
Teacher and Christian singer/songwriter Chan Davis created this gorgeous beauty.
She wrote on Instagram:
"It’s Black History Month and it’s like a holiday over here at Lake Alfred Elementary. Here is this year's door … Shout out to my #Artclub babies for twisting this paper into dreads (The real mvps). She’s got her gold clips and yarn wrapped around her dreads and she’s ready to go. We are excited to share our projects with you!"
Many teachers take an opportunity to celebrate diversity in black culture and thank those who walked before them.
"Teaching my students to give Gratitude to the ones that paved the way for us to live life as we know it today," the caption to this photo reads. "BECAUSE OF THEM, WE CAN."
Some schools even make the door decorations a competition ...
… and this door was the big winner for the month. We love that they took an opportunity to honor a living legend such as Serena Williams.
Others lean into iconic, thought-provoking quotes that can't help but inspire, even decades later.
This door, which recreates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., includes the powerful quote: "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Then there are those who celebrate things such as black hair, which is often scrutinized.
Because everyone deserves to love themselves fiercely, and all hair (or even no hair) is good hair.
Some teachers even let their students take the reigns.
At least one school shared its door on Instagram said its students were behind the artful displays this month. (This one comes from a high school in Missouri.)
There are often many nods to the past -- like this door, which celebrates Ruby Bridges and her iconic entry into a nonsegregated school.
In 1960, Ruby became an unexpected civil rights hero at the age of 6, when she was the first African American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her walk to and from her school was captured by news cameras and broadcast across the nation, which made her the face of the segregation crisis.
In fact, there are a lot of Ruby Bridges doors that pop up every year.
Each one is more beautiful than the last, featuring little 6-year-old Ruby making her historic walk to school. They also include one of her most famous quotes: "Each and every one of us is born with a clean heart."
Following the success of the 2016 film 'Hidden Figures,'many teachers also choose to celebrate the woman who inspired it all: Katherine Johnson.
Johnson was an American mathematician at NASA, whose calculations helped in critical spaceflights during the 1960s. (And if you haven't seen the movie yet, do yourself a favor and stream it — now.)
Others pay homage to a wide array of black heroes throughout history.
For all the Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. doors, there are some that tip their hat to heroes like Harriet Tubman, who helped run the infamous Underground Railroad. Even artists, like writer and poet Maya Angelou, are honored.
Of course, plenty of classroom door displays honor present-day icons, too.
And it's just as important to remind ourselves that time marches on — and black artists, inventors, and civil rights advocates continue to move and inspire a whole new generation.
Here's to everyone celebrating Black History Month this February, in whatever way they choose to show their respect.
