The month of February has been designated Black History Month.
It was recognized by the US government back in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. People take time to acknowledge the struggle of blacks in America and all the achievements from the last 400 years. I don't have a problem with Black History Month, but I do take issue with how people choose to squeeze all of the black heritage into the shortest month of the year.
That is why Black History Month is not just in February, but it is every day.
When I say that Black History Month is every day, I am not talking in the literal sense. Of course, it is impossible to squeeze a month into a day. What is more impossible is the idea that all of African-American history can somehow be squeezed into a month also. There is always something that can be learned every day about a black person in America.
This month of recognizing blacks should not stop after or before February. It should be a continuous cycle. I know this seems hard to accomplish, but in all actuality, it truly isn't. Why it is viewed as a hard task is because the schools teach so little about blacks in America.
I know coming from a small, predominately white school, I would only hear about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. and maybe Harriet Tubman only when February rolled around. Since the schools seem to have a hard time teaching our youth about black history in America, then how do we preserve black heritage?
It starts from the homes of not just blacks, but all ethnicities. I know that I have missed out on a lot of black history in America simply because I wasn't taught it. Some blame should be put on the schools. While the rest of the blame should be put on us for just not acknowledging the other greats. Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, Ella Baker, Septima P. Clark, Sojourner Truth, James Baldwin and so many others are left out of the conversations too many times.
To preserve black history, we can't hope for others to teach us all the time. Finding out that Orpah Winfrey was not the first black woman to become a millionaire is only something that you find out by research. By the way, it was a lady by the name of Madam Walker who was the first African-American millionaire. Going to Google, Yahoo, Bing or whatever search engine you use can give you plenty of answers. It does not take long to type in something that will lead you to a list of inventions and achievements that blacks have made here.
I have become adamant about preserving the history of my ancestors. If I don't, then the next generation will be left without critical knowledge of the past. There have been so many misconceptions that hurt black heritage and that is because this history month leaves out the "radicals."
For example, when people hear the names Malcolm X or the Nation of Islam.
They think about people who want white people dead or radical blacks which is not true. The same goes for the Black Panther Party that has gotten a bad reputation because so many people don't take the time to educate themselves. That goes for black people as well. Because once these misconceptions get repeated over and over again, then they start to sound like truths to people.
Black History Month is not something I dislike or hate. I appreciate the notion of trying to capture black heritage, but it is not enough. It is not enough to just recognize black suffering, struggle and excellence in February.
Also, I never really liked the idea that blacks were "given" the shortest month out of the year to celebrate our culture. To keep the achievements and progress that has taken over 400 years alive, one month will not be enough. 365 days (366 days in leap years) is still not enough because we cannot just stop forgetting about what it took to get blacks here.
While I like having Black History Month, there is no reason to limit the knowledge and teachings of black heritage. Black History Month should be celebrated every day to truly preserve not just black history, but to preserve American history as well.
