We begin Black History Month with a president who called school integration a “racial jungle.” More recently he said Blacks “ain’t Black” if they don’t support him. To the north, we have a Canadian prime minister who partied in Blackface this century.

We celebrate Black history with the National Education Association pushing teachers to tell whites they are racists and Blacks they are victims. We endure remnants of white supremacy and institutional racism that long ago should have imploded of stupidity.

This February, teach children how our country enslaved Blacks. Teach about segregated water fountains, schools, businesses, and back-of-the-bus rules. We must never gloss over unpleasant facts when teaching about a hideous past of race-based atrocities that are unpleasant to remember. We must never forget so we may never repeat.

Whatever we teach, convince children they are equal in the eyes of the creator and the laws of this land. Teach them to honor the white and Black lives sacrificed so people of all ethnicities would have a free country in which to live, love, work and play together without concern for skin pigmentation.

Black people have made this country great and will continue doing so. Let’s remember the past, celebrate our progress, and dream of a future that cares much about character and nothing about color. Let’s celebrate Black history as a country united by civil rights and respect for all human lives.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board