The 4 Black History Month Projects We Most Dreaded as Kids, Ranked

4. The talent show

These were actually sort of litty, as the kids say. Sure, there was inevitably a spoken-word performance and some historical monologues, but really this was an excuse for Black kids to be excellent and Black as all outdoors without a care in the world. The only place you’d hear a Margaret Walker poem followed by a dance interpretation of 112’s “Peaches and Cream.”

3. The group project

Black folks who went to predominantly White schools know the feeling of partnering with classmates who act like they’re too good to learn about Malcolm X. Shut up and do your PowerPoint slide, Chad!

2. Dress-up day

No Black History Month is complete unless you dress up like the hero of your choice. You could either wear your favorite sports jersey or put on a tie and dress up like MLK. The dread factor here depends on your Benjamin Banneker-loving parents and how much resentment you ended up having for them.

1. March 1

This technically isn’t a Black History Month project, but it’s trash nonetheless because the end of February is a reminder that lesson plans are going back to normal. And by “normal” we mean “let’s get back to learning about White people.” So long, Rosa; make way for (deep sigh) Nancy Reagan.

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