Bellevue East High School has limited observances of Black History Month in February 2025, despite the historical month’s establishment in 1976.

“I think that it’s a really important time in our history and we should  acknowledge the plight of so many people and what they had to go through to become citizens,” social studies instructor Stephanie Simon said. “I do believe that it needs to be highlighted and really celebrated because we wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for them.”

February marks the start of Black History Month. Black History Month, according to History, a popular website, is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history.

“Black history has helped shape our country, and not to mention, there is black history in Nebraska, so why aren’t we talking about it?” Omaha National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Vice President Dennis Womack said. “What’s wrong with admitting that there has been wrong doing in this country? Once you acknowledge wrongdoing, then I think you also set up the vehicle for healing.”

Black History Month originally came to be in 1976 because former U.S. President Gerald Ford wanted to emphasize and “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Some students, however, still witness this neglect of Black history in their environments.

“I feel like our school neglects or lacks representation or conversation about Black History Month or any heritage months because we just don’t put in the time or energy to discuss it,” sophomore Natalia Gil said. “I haven’t heard anything or seen anything around the school providing information about Black History Month, to be honest.”

According to an article by Nebraska Public Media, some high schools in Nebraska, like Roncalli Catholic High School, celebrate by catering food from Black-owned businesses and saying important facts about Black History Month over the announcements. SuperEval reports that high schools in states like New York, Texas, and New Jersey do similar things to implement Black History Month as well.

“I think the first step for Bellevue East is finding more instructors that are people of color,” Womack said. “You’ll find that more activities involving Black History Month will appear if there are teachers of color that students like them can look up to.”

School is an institution for educating children, but Black History Month is not implemented in some schools. According to the University of Buffalo, Black History Month presents opportunities for students to think and reflect on the history of Black people and their experiences. Additionally, the University of Buffalo argues that knowing our history means that we are more educated about humanity itself.

“I can tell you as a student of one of the Omaha Public schools, high schools, I was instrumental in creating Black history,” Womack said. “It cost me my education in the state of Nebraska because it was something that they didn’t want to implement and put in the curriculum, but I did it.”

Sophomore Taylor Swan, a member of Diversity club, experienced more exposure to the importance of Black History Month when she was in elementary school, but as she grew older that exposure began to fade.

“I remember when I was younger we talked about it [Black History Month] a lot more frequently and as I grew it began to fade,” Swan said. “Our school has a lot of minorities, so now that we are older we should be able to talk more deeply about it.”

Physical representation of Black History Month or anything related to Black culture is not posted throughout main parts of the school including entrances, TVs, hallways, the lunchroom, or senior commons. East’s website, Bellevue Public Schools, has no information about Black History Month as well. Daily announcements do not provide additional information about multiple national heritage months or days.

“I don’t know why the school doesn’t put as much emphasis on Black History Month,” Simon said. “There are times where we’ve had spirit days, and as a teacher, I didn’t even know about the spirit day or, you know, what to wear or anything, and it felt excluding. We need to do a little bit of a better job, getting this information out to teachers and students.”

East does some things in reference to Black History Month. For example, the library sets out books corresponding to heritage months. Instructor Karin Donner teaches primarily in the science field and talks about influential African American figures and their accomplishments. Some teachers decorate their rooms and include quotes from African American figures.

“What I do for every month that is celebrated. like Hispanic heritage month, I’ll pull the books that have either Hispanic characters or a theme,” Media Specialist  Shannon Dunkel said.