It’s February, which is the month where people normally think about football, Valentine’s Day, and even President’s Day. However, the importance of the shortest month of the year is always over shadowed by these things. Black History Month is the entire month of February and yet a majority of people don’t even remember that. In high school our teachers just barely scratch the surface about what Black History Month really means and why we need it. Now, there’s a lot of controversy revolving Black History Month, surrounding why one ethic group needs its own month. I’m here to break down that theory and not only show why we need it, but what it represents in both the present and the future.
Anybody who has not grown up with the background of a person of color will know the basics of other cultures as well as the myths; they learn the watered down version of the three main parts that they believe is necessary to know in school. We learn the basics of slavery, the Civil Rights movement and if your teacher really cares about some of the black inventors that have contributed to the America that has evolved today. Never do we learn about the important contributions from people like W.E.B. Dubois, Fannie Lou Hamer, or even Malcolm X –who is painted as a radical in the media. Doesn’t that bother you even just a little? They say knowledge is power but if they never truly give you that knowledge are you really powerful when you are speaking about diversity and togetherness. In high school we had required reading of old English writers like Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Twain and even Harper Lee. However, the school system failed to add pieces of great literature by authors such as Octavia Butler, Bell Hooks or Phillies Wheatley.
Black History is not a month to talk just about how far black people in America have come, and it’s not just about the amazing contributions from the people of the past have contributed to our future; it’s about the joy and activism and representation of African American people. It’s about celebrating the black arts and literature and even the black businesses that are up and running today. It’s about encouraging a world that will be better for the little boys and girls that are rising up behind us. A month of radical self-love for black people and their culture– that’s all it’s about. It’s not about hating another race or even degrading others during our special month where we get to share our history with people who know so little about it.
In 1976 Black History Month was officially recognized due to President Gerald R Ford. He called on the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” It shows that we are more than people who came up from underneath slavery; that we have more than a handful of great heroes to select from because black people have so much more to offer than what the media and most of society has labeled us as. We have visionaries, astronauts, engineers, authors, researchers, doctors, scientists, inventors, and our very own President of these United States of America and his family. This is a history that should be shared, not only briefly, but all the time.
It is time that we learned more about black people and their historical culture and not portray them as the images that we see on television, music videos, or even falsified images of stereotypical people of color. Now is the time to embrace and really learn about the people who have helped America progress to where it stands today and maybe even question what you really learned about black people from the media.
So don’t just “celebrate” Black History Month. Confront past and present injustices as bright, intelligent women make an effort to learn something new about the black community or experience. Happy Black History Month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1KJRRSB_XA