How did Black history designations go over in Jacksonville decades ago?

Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union
·3 min read
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In 1974 a boy gets help with his attire during a parade for what was then known as Black History Week. The event, which drew numerous community groups, was in the Jefferson Street area of Jacksonville.
In 1974 a boy gets help with his attire during a parade for what was then known as Black History Week. The event, which drew numerous community groups, was in the Jefferson Street area of Jacksonville.
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In 1976, President Gerald Ford declared February to be Black History Month, as every president since him has done. A half-century before that, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History had declared the second week in February to be Negro History Week. That annual event grew, leading to celebrations and increased knowledge of the contributions of Black Americans.

The movement spread to many schools, including eventually those in Duval County. It wasn't without dispute though.

Education has long been a source of controversy, then and now. As Times-Union columnist Mark Woods observed recently: "In Florida, education has become the political battleground, from kindergarten to college. And the news comes so fast and furious that it’s hard to keep up and piece it all together."

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In February 1992, Deserae Wilson, 10, and Glenn Foreman, 11, were part of the Sallye B. Mathis Elementary School team taking part in the second annual Black History Month Brain Brawl at Gateway Mall. Here, they're barely able to hold back the answer to a bonus question presented to another team. The Sallye B. Mathis team ended up finishing second to Martin Luther King Elementary.

Consider 1973 when, as a Times-Union story noted, the Duval County School Board took up a policy that would "eliminate the observance of Black History Week" each February. In its place would go a "multi-ethnic studies" program.

"The proposed policy states that the curriculum here must reflect the history, culture and contributions of the ethnic and racial groups which make up society," Margo Pope's story said. "In addition, the proposal mandates all classroom materials should present contributions of all people in an objective and balanced manner."

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Keyon Bush, 5, and his grandmother Erline Menefee get lunch in February 1988 at the International Black Food Festival at Second Baptist Church. The festival marked the end of a month's worth of activities at the church during Black History Month.
Keyon Bush, 5, and his grandmother Erline Menefee get lunch in February 1988 at the International Black Food Festival at Second Baptist Church. The festival marked the end of a month's worth of activities at the church during Black History Month.

The board went on to approve that policy, which led to a protest the next February in which about 120 students walked out of Sandalwood Junior-Senior High. The story said several teachers tried to explain to the protesters the workings of the multi-ethnic program, but it did not note what their reaction was.

In 1991 a Times-Union story by Julia Howard told how a county desegregation plan, approved the previous year after negotiations with the NAACP, "required the school system teach students more about Blacks and other non-European influences." As part of that, every eighth-grade teacher got a set of a book on African American history that spanned 400 years.

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At duPont Junior High in 1991, teacher Jim Campbell, whose colorful attire was intended to promote a school dance, helps student Feliciann Ethridge prepare for a test on Black history.
At duPont Junior High in 1991, teacher Jim Campbell, whose colorful attire was intended to promote a school dance, helps student Feliciann Ethridge prepare for a test on Black history.

Ben Fleming, a Ribault High teacher, told the paper that the new effort "gives more insight into the accomplishments of Blacks than was included in their regular textbooks."

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At Alimicani Elementary School in February 1995, Chris Hayes (left) and Rasheed Abdullah listen to instructor Linda Zeiler during a class discussion on Black history. The previous year, the state mandated that schools should teach Black history. Zeiler was a member of a state task force charged with figuring out how to incorporate he subject into schools.

Andrea Harris, a duPont Junior High student, confirmed that, saying it made her proud of African American heritage and made her eager to learn more about influential people and events. Previously, she said, her studies on Black history had taught her little about anyone but Martin Luther King Jr.

"King was good, but he wasn't the only Black civil rights leader you had," she said.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A look at Black history designations in Jacksonville's past