Black History is American History. It should be taught in all our schools year-round. Our students cannot afford to remain ignorant about the rest of our history that has never been taught. In doing so, we have hampered their ability to take steps to dismantle the systemic racism that began in 1619 (or before) and continues to this very day, threatening the voting rights of Black and brown people, young people, poor people and women--- who have lived on the margins of society for most of our history as the "Great Experiment". Until we can accept and reclaim our common humanity and celebrate our diversity as one human family, we are doomed to repeat the horrors of our past and continue the cycle of racial violence that led to the murder of Emmett Till and all of our Black brothers and sisters who have been killed since then---that time when our eyes were first opened that racism in America is very REAL, and that hate crimes toward those who are deemed different and/or "less than" seem to be on the rise. Got xenophobia? Our irrational fears of the "other" is what caused this American original sin-racism- in the first place. God forgive us for our White Privileged past. It is up to ALL of us to take on the civil rights/human rights work that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was unable to finish because of his assassination. We owe it to him. We owe it to our Black brothers and sisters. We owe it to God who created us ALL in His Own Image and Likeness in the expectation that we would love on another, because in His eyes, we are ALL His Beloved Children. And MLK's Dream of building a "Beloved Community" will never be a reality unless we learn Black History as part of our American History and then make the necessary changes in attitude and policies to achieve God's Plan for ALL Humanity, starting right here in America. May the Spirit of Agape Love surround us and envelope us and create in us a desire for True and Lasting Equality and Justice for ALL.