Rosa Parks, Amanda Gorman: Parents dress daughters up as trailblazing women for Black History Month
TROY, Mich. - Jalen and Keyonna Seawright came up with a unique way to teach their toddler daughters about Black history: making it as interactive as possible.
The couple recently dressed up their daughters, Karington, 3, and Kaidence, 2, to model famous trailblazing Black women during the month of February.
"We know, like, in this whole pandemic and things like that, we were going have to get creative in the way that we were trying to celebrate Black History Month," Jalen told FOX Television Stations on Monday.
Recently, the little girls donned brown overcoats and glasses to look like civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat for a White passenger in 1955. The family then visited the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn to see the exact bus that cemented Parks’ place in the history books.
"Happy 108th Birthday Rosa Parks!" Jalen posted on Instagram.
The Seawrights also styled their girls in yellow peacoats and red headbands to look like Poet Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old who recited her verses at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and most recently, Super Bowl LV.
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"When I was watching the inauguration, she [Gorman] literally moved me to tears," Jalen said. "That’s not what you really see in the media related to Black women, and so like, that’s what I like hope for them."
Then on Tuesday, the father posted new pictures of the girls - this time dressed up like astronauts to resemble Mae Jemison, the first Black female astronaut in space.
"Today, we salute @therealmaejemison," he posted on Instagram.
"I’m hoping that they can learn that no matter what anybody tells them that they cannot do that they remember ‘Hey, my parents instilled in me that I’m perfect and I can do whatever I put my mind to," Keyonna said. "There’s no limit."
The concept isn’t new to the husband and wife. They said that they went through similar experiences while learning about Black history during their childhoods.
"This is the way we want to teach our girls," Jalen said. He said he doesn’t believe it’s too early to teach them Black history.
"It’s been a lot of conversations about what’s happening in the world that are happening around our household," he explained. "With Black History Month this year, I definitely think that it stands out because there’s more attention on the subject of racial reconciliation and bringing people together."
The couple said they also do other art projects with their daughters to help them learn more about their history. They encouraged other families to find innovative ways to teach history to their children.
"Engage with stories that are different than your own or stories of your heritage," Jalen said.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.