Hear me when I say this is in no way to bash my race. I am here to be 100 percent honest with how I feel about this month and I hope that others will at least take into consideration my point.
Every February is a special month for me. As a young girl before, black history month was something that I looked forward to. Learning about those who came before me was inspiring and it made me appreciate being black and kept me motivated to do my absolute best in life.
Well as time went on, I am still motivated, but black history month has become one of my least favorite times of the year.
Let me explain.
How insulting is it to place centuries and centuries of the black community into one month? The shortest month at that. What kills me is that we will celebrate black history month with little daily facts or some schools will bring up historical black figures within that month, but once March 1 hits, it’s gone. They go back to their regularly scheduled programs as if nothing has ever happened. Now I love to see black people in today’s world excel and do great things, but who decided that there should be a month. Black history should be celebrated every single day.
Now I know what most of you are thinking. We have this month because we do not get the recognition that we deserve on a daily basis, which I completely understand. We don’t. Every time I turn around, those who look like me are struggling to get the recognition they deserve. Whether it’s in the entertainment industry or it’s the medical field or just your basic everyday living. Black folks do not get the recognition they deserve and that’s why we have things like black history month and BET and Centric.
I just find it crazy that the people who paved the way for me to be the person who I am today are celebrated in 28-days. Beyond just those who are “barely” mentioned in textbooks. What about slaves? What about those got up every single day to go to work when blacks were not looked at as equal (and we are still looked at as not equals for the record)? What about those who broke their backs every single day so that those after them can live a better life? Why are they placed into a month? That’s beyond crazy to me.
And then you looked at today’s society, where blacks are barely scratching the surface just to be known. Entertainers take on the stereotypical roles of the drug dealer, drug addict, baby mama, baby father, basketball player and welfare check recipient. But then you have those who get the roles of teachers, doctors, lawyers, cops. Overall movers and shakers of everyday society and the black community scream for joy because someone made it beyond the limits, but yet he or she will be celebrated in a month. Wow.
I understand the purpose of black history month, but black history should be celebrated EVERY SINGLE DAY, not just 28-days