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Kevonna Buchanan, 15, of Gates gathers with others at the Liberty Pole in July before a demonstration march supporting "Black Lives Matter."(Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/@cfortiz_dandc/File photo)Buy Photo

The Rochester City School District has proclaimed next Friday, Black Lives Matter at School: A Day of Understanding and Affirmation.

Some criticize the phrase, but I think it makes sense.

Such slogans resonate with you when the Supreme Court of your country once said that people of your race are beings of an inferior order so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.

When the number of years that your race spent in slavery in America (246) still far outnumbers the years since the Emancipation Proclamation(152).

When your mother had to flee terrorists (the white supremacist kind) who shot at blacks who dared to try to sit near whites in a Mississippi movie theater.

Black lives mattering is a relatively new concept in American history. So people ought to understand that the real message is that black lives matter as much as white lives do, which is just too long for a rallying cry.

But thats just my opinion.

Students will get to debate, discuss and explore this and othermatters relating to race and the Black Lives Matter movement on Friday. The day isn't connectedto thenational Black Lives Matter movement. Rather it was proposed by parents, teachers and citizens.Potential lessons includeBlack Lives Matter versus All Lives Matter, race and the criminal justice system, and What happened in Ferguson and why?

Teachers mightshow their students "13th," a documentary by Ava DuVernay that explores today's prison labor system and how it links to slavery.Or encouragethem to read Michelle Alexanders "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness."For little kids, there are a variety of options, including ananti-racism lesson centered around the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches.

Why is the district doing this? The official answer is that it wanted to create a day of education, dialogue and action that will actively engage a significant number of educational communities throughout Monroe County in activities that support understanding and affirmation of black lives.

Theres also the fact that many of its students look like Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice, the young men whose deaths sparked #blacklivesmatter. These studentsare living history and should be encouraged to think about current struggles for racial equality and justice.They should be taught that their lives matter as much as anyone elses and given the tools to continue the centuries-long struggle for a countrythat reflects this.

Erica Bryant is the Pay it Forward columnist. Contact her at ebryant@gannett.com

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Rochester school district to celebrate Why Black Lives Matter at School - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle