Beverly Hills Honors Black History Month

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — "Ruby was being a Hawthorne hero," a kindergartener at Hawthorne Elementary School told a camera, referring to Ruby Bridges, the young girl who desegregated a Louisiana elementary school and was the subject of a famous 1964 Norman Rockwell painting.

This six-year-old was just one of many Beverly Hills students who recently shared their experiences learning about Black History Month in school. At Tuesday night's school board meeting, five students in grades three to five told the board about the different Black heroes they've learned about in school. (Students begin speaking at 4:52.)

"They've all experienced racism, and it shows that one person can make a difference, and that's what I'm trying to do right now," said Talia Pinchuk, a fifth grader at Horace Mann who has started an after-school club where students discuss issues of racism and social justice.

Beverly Hills schools have thrown themselves into Black History Month. Students are learning about Black history even beyond their social studies courses: in choir students have been studying Black musicians, in art they are learning about Black artists, and in PE students are even doing workouts modeled after those of Black athletes. The schools have also been posting the stories of Black leaders on their Instagram pages almost daily.

"We know that we can do a better job of not just making February a Black History Month, but embedding what's going on in this month in all months throughout the school year," Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy said during the meeting, where he announced the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force that aims to "support a positive district and school climate promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Outside its schools, the city of Beverly Hills is taking steps to honor Black history. The city's community service page contains dozens of links on everything from the best Black history museums to the best Black history documentaries to how to support Black-owned businesses. The Beverly Hills Public Library has also curated a list of books "amplifying diverse voices" like "Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama, "Twelve Years A Slave" by Solomon Northrup, and "The Color of Law" by Richard Rothstein, who gave a talk on Feb. 4 about state-sponsored residential segregation.

It was not a particularly easy year for race relations in Beverly Hills, the site of numerous chaotic protests after the killing of George Floyd. Rodeo Drive stores were looted, and Beverly Hills Police instituted numerous different curfews and controversial arrest and detention policies. Lawsuits accused the Beverly Hills Police Department of racial profiling, and videos of Beverly Hills police patting down and questioning a Black Versace executive went viral. Starting in August, pro-Trump rallies began gathering regularly in front of City Hall, and fights even broke out between pro and anti-Trump forces.

Black History Month in Beverly Hills can't come a minute too early.