This week marks the beginning of Black History / Futures Month. As a Black educator I am both excited and hesitant.

For the past few years, this time of Black celebration has been first marked by building up walls around cheap narratives for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day in January. Black people remind the world to not use Dr. King as a prop for their aims. We remind the world that he was radical and he is not around today because he was too radical for whiteness.

This is why being Black in education makes me tense during Black History / Futures month. I have learned to not have faith in these institutions when the focus is forced on marginalized groups. Hispanic Heritage Month and Native American Month have already passed. I know the effort (or lack thereof) that is going to be put into celebrating my people, and discussing the reality of our history.

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