I wrote this post at the beginning of Black History Month in the year 2018, explaining the reasons for Black History Month and my reasons for highlighting it. That was then … and today, some six years later, there is even more reason to bring this post back into the spotlight. In the last year or two, we have seen numerous efforts to stifle or halt the teaching of Black history in our schools, we have seen books by African-American writers banned, and we have seen restrictive voting laws that are intended to keep Black people away from the polls, to take away their rights to have a say in their government. Racism and other forms of bigotry are almost becoming the ‘norm’ in the United States, and WE MUST STOP IT! Sometimes I say that a post is “as relevant today as it was back then”, but when it comes to these Black History Month posts, I think they are MORE relevant today than when they were first written.
The History:
The origins of Black History Month date back to 1926 when Harvard historian Carter G. Woodson declared the second week in February ‘Negro History Week’. February was chosen as it coincided with the birthdates of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Black History Month was first proposed by black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970.
In 1976, during America’s bicentennial, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history”.
The Purpose:
Some question the need for a special month during which to celebrate black history, but I would argue that historically in this nation, the contributions of African-Americans have been minimalized, swept under the rug. I grew up during the Civil Rights era, and I cannot recall during my primary or secondary education learning about the contributions of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, C.J. Walker, Bessie Coleman or others. Yet, their lives contributed to what our nation has become just as much as any others.
This nation was founded on diversity, yet that concept seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way. No single race or its culture can define this nation, and to fully understand our history and who we are today, we need to be able to look at our past from a variety of perspectives. And yet, we often fail to do that, we fail to recognize the contributions by Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and African-Americans.
Black history (just like Hispanic, Asian, European, and Native history) belongs to all of us — black and white, men and women, young and old. The impact African Americans have made on this country is part of our collective consciousness. Contemplating Black history draws people of every race into the grand and diverse story of this nation.
In 1964, author James Baldwin reflected on the shortcomings of his education. “When I was going to school, I began to be bugged by the teaching of American history because it seemed that that history had been taught without cognizance of my presence.”
This year, perhaps more than any in the past five decades, bigotry and racism are raising their ugly faces. White supremacism is seemingly on the rise, and bigotry flows down from the highest office in the nation. I think that now, more than at any time in our recent history, it is important for us to stop a minute, turn our attentions away from the three-ring circus in Washington, and remind ourselves of the contributions and achievements of our brothers and sisters who have given so much to this country.
Another year, I might have committed to a daily post to honour the contributions of African-Americans throughout this nation’s history. This year, due to the toxic environment on which I feel compelled to opine, and with my limited visual acuity, I am unable to do so, but I plan at least a few posts about people who I think made special and interesting contributions, and I will include some trivia at the end of some of my other posts. It is little enough, but hopefully you will learn at least one thing you didn’t already know about our history, our culture.
Yesterday, a friend of my neighbor was shopping in a local Kroger, shopping for food to feed her family, when she accidentally bumped her cart into that of another shopper. She apologized, the other shopper said “no problem”, and the matter should have ended there. However, as she moved on, she heard the other shopper say to her friend “ISIS”. The friend of my neighbor, you see, was wearing her traditional hijab.
We, those of us who are socially and morally conscious of such things, try to combat racism in the U.S. through legal channels and by attacking the institutions that promote or tolerate such behaviour. That, too, is necessary, but I wonder if perhaps we would be more effective by using what little voice we have to combat the smaller events like those listed above. For example, had I been shopping and seen the incident between my neighbor’s friend and the other woman, I might have stepped in and explained to the woman that: a) the proper term is Daesh, not ISIS; b) the vast majority of Muslims are not affiliated with terrorist organizations like Daesh; and c) Islam is a religion of peace and love, not hate. Frankly, by the time I finished with that lady, she probably would have parked her cart and went running out of the store, as you all know how I am once I step up onto my soapbox! Or, had I been the woman who walked into the fast food place and was immediately waited on, I might have said, “No, she (the Hispanic woman) was here first … please take her order first.” And I will not even speculate on what I might have done had I come upon the man holding the sign, other than to say I would be calling upon my friends to take up a collection for bail money instead of writing this blog post.
It is called ‘everyday racism’, and it is relatively small things like this that grow into full-blown racism of the type we see propagated by various organizations, particularly this year in the culture of fear, bigotry and multiple phobias that have been pushed forth by politicians, religious leaders and the media. People are now afraid to use public restrooms, they are afraid of women wearing a hijab, they are afraid of people who look, speak and act differently than themselves. We must bring common sense back to the streets. We must be willing to stand up for our beliefs, the belief upon which this nation is based, that “All Men (and women) Are Created Equal”. We must be willing to stand up to the bigot and the xenophobe.
Filosofa's Word 