#OscarsSoWhite, the Stacey Dash incident, #BlackLivesMatter, Hands Up, Don’t Shoot, #BlackGirlMagic, etc. Every day that isn’t February we try to find ways to be prideful in our culture and ourselves. But, we have an entire month, that should be enough right? Black History Month in school is the same thing. Every. Single. Year. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights Movement (including the violence in the South, depending on the teacher) John F. Kennedy, and maybe Malcolm X (again, depending on the teacher). We only get a fraction of the history we’ve been around in the world and yet it’s “offensive.”
Black History month began as “Negro History Week” in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson and became a month-long celebration in 1976; it was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass. It was created to acknowledge the Black individuals and their accomplishments that were being left out of the educational curriculum. However, today it has become a month of Black icons and “firsts,” something that Woodson never intended. Instead, Woodson wanted people to acknowledge Black history in order to "overcome negative stereotyping" and to "inspire Black Americans to avoid becoming dependent on the government to do something that they could do themselves." His vision was that it would create unity and that a special week or month would not be required to honor Black Americans and their accomplishments.
According to Debate.org, 54 percent of people don't think that Black History Month should be celebrated because Black History is American History and it is racist. First of all, yes, it is true that Black History is American History. But, it is not in the educational system, if it truly were considered a part of American history, then schools wouldn't need February to talk about anything associated with Black History. Second, celebrating the little Black accomplishment we know of in the shortest month of the year is not racist. It's not putting down any other race nor is it involving the idea that that one's race is superior and has the right to dominate others by enacting hatred, intolerance and discrimination. And finally, Black History Month is not the only month that celebrates specific histories and cultures of other ethnic groups.
Here's the truth: We will continue to have a Black History Month until credit has been given to where it’s due. Students shouldn't have to wait until college to learn that Black history did not begin with slavery. All should learn that Black people did build America and were some of the most brilliant innovators of science such as Charles Drew, Garrett Morgan, and Benjamin Banneker. African American women have created opportunities for their community such as Clara Brown, Mary Jane Patterson, Patricia Roberts Harris, and Autherine Lucy. When there isn't any more room for “firsts,” and when Black people can finally be considered as a part of America in all aspects, then we will have lived up to Mr. Woodson's vision and will not need a month-long celebration of American excellence that happens to be Black. Covering up the truth by calling slaves "workers" will not make racial relations better, nor is reminding everyone of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream throughout February and forgetting about it March through January.
Black History Month is more than just a month of people being enslaved and then fighting for their rights, it's also a month of appreciating the doctors that created cures, scientists who discovered new theories, artists who hit higher notes, scholars who wrote something better, and people who just did what they loved for the enjoyment of themselves and the eventual betterment of society.
