Black History Month is not only important because of the accomplishments African-Americans have made in civil rights, education, health care, athletics, and many other aspects of life, but it is also important because this month celebrates what is yet to come in the future. People have said that the accomplishments of African-Americans only affect African-Americans. I believe this is wrong because these triumphs have affected the future development of events, ideas, and all aspects of life, for everyone. If Daniel Hale Williams was never born, would people of all races be able to get life-saving open-heart surgeries? If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was never born, would the fight for civil rights and equality for all people of all races come as far as it has? If Jackie Robinson never broke the color barrier of major league baseball, would the likes of future African-American or Hispanic or Asian baseball players be able to play in the big leagues? If Rosa Parks was never born, then the fight for equality would never have come where it is now and where it is headed. Those people who say that the accomplishments of African-Americans only affect African-Americans are wrong.
You may ask, “how does this effect me?” Well, it effects you a lot. Imagine for a moment what the world would be like if all the people who contributed in the fight for freedom, justice, and equality never existed. Imagine what today would look like if Dr. King’s I have a dream speech was never made, Jackie Robinson never stepped onto a major league baseball field welcoming open participation in all sports, or Rosa Parks never ignited a movement for desegregated busing. What if all these people suddenly disappeared from the history books and from life? Would equality and civil rights be at its present state? I cannot even imagine that equality and civil rights would be where it is today if all the contributions of civil rights leaders, activists, and other extraordinary people never happened. We live in a society that is more accepting of people of other races and society has come a long way from previous and severe forms of hatred, racism, and discrimination.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” We live in a world that Dr. King aspired and worked for all his life until his death. Dr. King may have been murdered, but neither the hatred nor the murderer could ever take away what Dr. King contributed to the lives of all Americans, even to this day. People like Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and countless others made it possible for you to sit next to someone who looks different from you and have a conversation with them. They made it possible for people of all races to eat in a restaurant together; to be friends with people who look different from you. Some people, full of ignorance, hatred and violence, try to discount or completely eliminate what these heroes did, but it will never work. The actions of the heroes are forever set and will always be remembered by people now and people in the future. Ignorance does not understand that people are forever affected by what these civil rights leaders have done. Therefore, they try to destroy or lessen the impact but the impact has already been made and it cannot be changed. The future is bright and set for more equality and acceptance of all people because of the fact that there are still people who will work for equality and acceptance and love of all people regardless of skin color.
What does the future hold? The future holds more acceptance and a love of different people. You might say that it does not feel like the world is accepting of different people. With faith, understanding, and love the future cannot be anything except bright for all people regardless of skin color. What if the future does not seem hopeful? I think that even those people who never had civil rights and were never treated like equals and had to work for civil rights and equality, had hope. I think hope has to come from inside of you because you believe something good will happen before anything changes. Hope comes from belief and then action and results happen. Have hope because the future is bright despite people who say otherwise and people who try to stop this bright future from happening.