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After months of watching civil rights demonstrations through the country and on the streets of Jacksonville at times even participating themselves the students were surprised when in February the school district didn t seize the opportunity to use Black History Month as an education tool to drive lessons about local racial justice movements and Black history.
Instead, the school district launched its own inaugural month-long campaign for mental health and suicide awareness called You Matter Month. While that campaign had its own issues because it encouraged students to #TakeOffYourMask during a global pandemic, some students worried the language minimized Black Lives Matter campaigns and hijacked the attention from the sole month annually centered around Black lives.
Updated: 7:01 PM EST February 15, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene released a statement Monday regarding last week s controversy surrounding the You Matter campaign.
The district intended the campaign to raise awareness and offer support for students struggling with mental illness, particularly suicide prevention.
However, last week students protested the campaign, claiming the month-long You Matter campaign seemed to overshadow Black History Month.
On Friday, students at six DCPS campuses held protests against the campaign and urged the district to promote the teaching of Black history throughout the school year.
“Both of those should be represented, both of them are important topics, both of them should be shown, student protester Jara Enoch told First Coast News last week. “I think just overall, there needs to be more education on Black history I mean, not only this month, but all months, all years.�