Celebrating a group of people is everyone's right\nGood points in this article? This article ("Black History Month is racist," March 2) was ridiculous and so were most of the follow-ups to it. The intent of Freiberg's column is to say that Black History Month should not exist, and he supports his position with flawed argumentation. One reason he gives is that media gives blacks due coverage. This is irrelevant because the media covers current events, not history.\nHe claims that "there is not black, white, or Latino history, only history influenced by people of all backgrounds." Actually, Freiberg, there are different focuses within the general category history, American history, African history, African American history, history of the Civil War, history of Latinos in the United States, etc. What's your point? That history cannot focus on any particular group? How bizarre would that be? But we already know how Freiberg wants to do history. He suggests that we "leave that nasty slavery business in the past." That's not the point of history, Freiberg. The point of history is to study events with great scrutiny and interpret them, traumatic as they might be.\nAnother ludicrous follow up argument was that celebrating Black History Month belittles blacks because it implies we only celebrate them for a month and not the entire year. According to that logic, we should do away with MLK Day, Presidents Day and the Fourth of July because we are belittling those people/events that should be celebrated all year long. No more holidays, Freiberg? Think of all the mayo sandwiches you won't be able to eat on your day off.\nThere are interpretations of history, which are influenced by those that write it. In my opinion, the purpose of Black History Month is not to give blacks due coverage, report their accomplishments, or privilege them in any way. The purpose is to celebrate the unique history of a group of people and their life in the United States and learn from it. Anyone who wants to focus on or celebrate any group of people has the right to do so, and we can see how important it is after reading Freiberg's letter.\nRichard File-Muriel\nGraduate student
Learning about diverse histories opens eyes\n Warren C. Freiberg's comments about how black history is racist are odd. No one said to stop your daily routine when it comes to Black History Month. We are just giving people a chance to learn about African Americans that we usually do not recognize. Putting that "nasty" slavery behind us will not happen because it is a part of history that should be discussed. It gives people a sense of how far we have come. \nBlack History Month is sad because we should not have to designate a month for African Americans, it should be automatically put into our curriculum. Most history classes and teachers might not realize that knowing history of other ethnicities is important to one's learning. It opens our eyes instead of keeping them closed off from key information.\nHowever, I agree with having a Black History Month or Latino Month because there are many minorities that are overlooked. It is a fact that most of us learn about Christopher Columbus, all the King James' and the Aztecs. This is fine, but I feel we need to also learn about other ethnicities, instead of just reading a short section about Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass. What about Renee Powell, who is one of three African American women to play in the LPGA, or the first African American men who became active officers in the Navy, THE GOLDEN THIRTEEN or Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to become an astronaut? \nSaying Black History Month is racist is absurd for a number of reasons. This month does not stop us from learning other history facts; it just focuses on history topics, and people that might not get usually covered. We are not demeaning other races during this month, just distinguishing our differences. Everyone's life experiences differ. Caucasians, African Americans and Hispanics did not face the same struggles. It seems that Freiberg should think again about his comments stating Black History Month is racist.\nDesiree Young\nSophomore
