Gwen Partridge, a pre-K teacher at the YMCA Immanuel Early Learning Center in Omaha, created a Black History Museum to teach her students about influential figures in Black history. This initiative features interactive exhibits that resonate with her predominantly white class, allowing them to explore topics such as racial identity and the experiences of historic figures like Ruby Bridges. Despite the museum's positive community feedback, recent federal directives to eliminate diversity initiatives have created a climate of fear and hesitation among educators regarding Black history education.
"What's great is when they learn something about Black history and then the parents come back and say 'Thank you,'" Partridge said.
"She was little, just like you guys. And just imagine how scared she was walking into a classroom with nobody else the same color as her skin," Partridge said.
"There's such a profound chilling effect that's happened right now because of the orders coming out of Washington," said Tim Royers.
"I don't think any school or district wants to talk about it for fear that that's going to get weaponized and used against them to potentially take away federal funding," Royers said.
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