The spectrum of race weighs heavily on the history of the United States and Canada and keeps on shaping the life experiences of Black people living in both countries. According to Reynolds (2016), not only is race a central element of history and culture, but it also determines the writing and reading of history. That is why Canada’s policy of multiculturalism contributed to the adoption of Black History Month, which initially originated in the United States and took place every February. It is the time during which people are encouraged to participate in festivities and events honoring the legacy of Black folks and their communities.
Black History Month in Canada has been conducive to schools teaching about diversity and the ancestry of African cultures. Prince (2009) states that it is, indeed, extremely important – but a special month is not enough. She recalls coming to schools every February to read stories to kids, providing them with a Black perspective on their history. That, in Prince’s (2009) opinion, is simply a crumb that Blacks are offered to settle for and stop there. It contributes to the amplification of the compartmentalized version of Black people’s history, which only further perpetuates a hegemony that denies their existence. An example of that, at one time, was a librarian’s suggestion that Prince read from a collection of Anansi stories instead of something she picked from her children’s book. This was justified by the fact that none of the kids in the audience were Black, but all of them understood Anansi, as well as Prince’s book, was generally deemed too difficult. Prince politely declined but was offended, for that was a classical instance of attempts to suppress a distinct cultural vision that she was supposed to deliver.
Therefore, an inclusive curriculum is not simply an option to consider – it is an absolute necessity. Instead of devoting twenty-eight days to the Black perspective and then ignoring it for the rest of the year, the government is to implement the exploration of the world’s history into the regular syllabus. Not only will it contribute to the destruction of harmful myths and to a fuller understanding of the cause-effect relationship between certain events – but it will also make Black children feel represented. For a country that prides itself on encouraging multicultural policies, all of these are equally important.