The month of February is annually dedicated to celebrating the lives and achievements of black Americans. Celebrating this month is a tradition that has been officially supported by every U.S president since 1976. Dedicating a whole month to celebrating the work and accomplishments of black Americans is incredibly important because it acknowledges a group of people who don’t get the recognition they deserve for the work they do across all spectrums.
Throughout the month of February, the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership at the University of Iowa has put on various activities on campus to help celebrate this month and raise awareness to some of the key issues facing black Americans today.
An upcoming event sponsored by the CSIL on February 18th will be a discussion called “Black Girl Magic” where an open dialogue will be brought forth to discuss issues facing black women and ways to overcome these issues. Furthermore, AJ Jones, associate dean of students at Arizona State University, is coming to the University of Iowa on February 21st to talk about the idea of situational identity and will examine the experience of an African American student at Iowa.
Celebrating Black History Month through these various events on campus allows for us as Americans to remember our history, which is crucial to the future, so we learn to never repeat our mistakes. Although, in recent months situations have risen that showcase we may not have come as far as we may have thought in terms of racial equality.
Police brutality towards blacks seems to be at all all time high as seen in the cases of Sandra Bland, Eric Garner or Trayvon Martin, which have shed light on the deeply rooted issue of racial bias that the black community faces. These instances and many more started the Black Lives Matter movement throughout America.
Moreover, a recent example of racial inequality that has made Americans question the length to which we’ve changed in regards to race relations would be the 2016 Oscars nominee list.
Among the list of Oscar nominees, there were no black actors or actresses nominated. In a year where “Straight Out Of Compton”, “Creed” and “Concussion,” were all films that featured black actors who gave phenomenal performances, it raises the question as to why these films or their subsequent actors weren’t nominated for an Oscar?
One can only speculate why they weren’t nominated, but it shouldn’t take too much convincing to see that there is a deeper issue to this problem that most relates back to racial inequality within film.
Having Black History Month gives black Americans an open platform to recognize the work being done by black artists, musicians, advocates and the list goes on. Furthermore, it gives black Americans the platform to discuss important issues facing their communites that the rest of the country needs to take a step back and recognize.
*all images courtesy of google*