Black History Month in CFBISD - Even though February has passed, we wanted to continue to share our thoughts from our educators in CFBISD about the impact of Black History Month.

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞: Eric Cockerham

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐅𝐁𝐈𝐒𝐃: Principal at Landry Elementary

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛: 

I love getting to work with a committed staff on meeting our student's and community's varied needs. I love having the opportunity to serve in a diverse community.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 "𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡?" 

Black History Month is very personal to me. When I hear those words, I think of my history. A history that for many years was not published in our textbooks. I think of the contributions of people who could contribute but not get recognition for their work. The more I reflect, I am grateful. I am grateful for people who were willing to pave the way for future leaders. People were willing to give themselves for others, even though they may or may or may not ever have the opportunity to reap the benefits of their efforts. 

Although Black History Month is a time of celebration for me, it is also a time to display accomplishments so that others may see our story. I live Black History every day. 

𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 H𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮: 

There are so many people to celebrate. There are so many community members who have invested in others. Of course, I could not omit my admiration for my cousin, Bill Russell. Bill and his brother, Charlie, have always been men to whom I looked for inspiration. As many awards as they have both received, they are humble and willing to help and encourage those who have come after them. My 92-year-old cousin, Jerry Cole, continues even today to make a difference in children's lives in South Louisiana. All of them inspire me to continue to achieve.

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡: 

Black History Month is an opportunity to share in celebrating African Americans' accomplishments, both past, and current. 

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐇𝐌 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 i𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬? 

It is important to take the time to celebrate BHM because of the families that we serve. Students need to see success to believe that it is achievable. African Americans have achieved in every area of our society. I hope that this would be encouraging for all students. 

This celebration also provides an opportunity for our community to understand our country and society's feelings better, needs, accomplishments, influence, and personality. The more we know each other, the less we fear each other. At a time in our lives where fear sometimes seems to dominate sound reasoning, there is a need to listen, be heard, seek to understand and understand each other. 

BHM was established to help us all understand the connections that we have to each other. We are connected, and we must not give up until we all understand. Black History is just that, History.