We shouldn’t celebrate Black History Month.
Yes, you read that correctly, but it’s probably not for the reasons you would think.
Black history is American history and should be celebrated as such throughout the school year.
“Black History Month can be a wonderful celebration of the contributions that African Americans have made to American history and culture,” Learn NC Director Kathryn Walbert tells learnnc.org. “All too often, however, those contributions are heralded in February but seldom mentioned throughout the rest of the year.”
Teaching about the rich history African Americans have had alongside other races would eliminate the need for us to set aside a specific month to celebrate black history. We can afford to get rid of Black History Month all together once we are able to successfully integrate black history into the curriculum year-round. This is the ultimate goal.
The only way we will successfully be able to do this is by changing the perspective of history topics away from the majority group to reflect upon and understand the perspective of minority groups, such as African Americans.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of hearing about the lives of rich, old white men who founded a country on the basis of freedom — unless you were African American, Native American, female or poor.
Are people going to look back 200 years from now and only remember the Donald Trumps of society? I surely hope the answer is no.
We have to become more comfortable talking about topics that make us uncomfortable.
In 2015, McGraw Hill was the center of controversy for this caption published in one of their textbooks: “The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s and 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations.”
Sugarcoating it by calling slaves “workers” isn’t helping anything; in fact it’s insulting.
Additionally, it’s sad that when we look back at black history in the U.S., most people only recall names like Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks.
These are not the only notable black figures in 400 years of history. When we only have one month, it’s easy to forget about many other figures, like former senator Hiram Revels, or writer and social activist Langston Hughes.
If we want to have a truly diverse understanding of our country’s history, we need to teach about important figures who have shaped our history and culture, regardless of what month it is or the person’s skin pigmentation.
I have a dream that one day all great historical figures will be recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to society, regardless of the color of their skin.
tatadams@indiana.edu
@TatianaDeWitt
