*Stands on my soapbox…*
*The crowd waits with anticipation…*
*I begin to speak…*
…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
First of all, before anyone starts
to get the wrong idea, I am not promoting any level of self-racism at all. I am a PROUD BLACK MAN and I am proud of the accomplishments that African Americans have made thus far that allow me to be able to have a voice in today's society. But if I didn’t make myself clear on my
opening statement, let me repeat it…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
Every time the month of February
comes along, I hear the same thing about Valentines Day from people. Statements like “We should treat our
significant other like it’s Valentines Day all the time. We shouldn’t have to wait for February 14th
to show them how much we love and care about each other”. Many people agree
with that type of mentality for good ol’ V-Day, but how about having that same mindset
when it comes to the education of African American/Black history? Why do the schools systems feel that it’s ok
to wait till February to finally start talking about African Americans in a
positive, when all of the months leading up till February all we heard about
blacks were that we were slaves? When Black History Month finally does get
here, what do the teachers talk about?
Hmmmmmm… Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks (of course
the exclude Malcolm X), MAYBE George Washington Carver and MAYBE Frederick Douglass,
and that’s about it…EVERY year. The
common ground usually pertains to the struggle: either African Americans that
went through it, or those that have over come it. Sounds repetitive and systematic to me, which
is pretty much the basics when it comes to learning, however it is very
limited. So what are we really getting
out of it? So I say…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
How many times have you heard a
black person say this: “Black History Month would be on the shortest month of
the year. They did us bogus”. Exactly who did us bogus? I’m assuming that “they” represents the
powers that be (aka the white man, aka “Whitey”). How many black people actually know why
there’s even a Black History Month? Do they know that it started out Negro
History Week and was created by a BLACK man named Carter G. Woodson in 1926
(same guy in the picture posted on this blog, also known as the “Father of
Black History”), whom also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life
and History, which also had a major role of establishing the week? Most people (including myself for a long
time) did not know about any of that because it was NOT taught to us in a
classroom in junior high or in high school.
Negro History Week was a way to acknowledge the birthdays of both
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass True indeed, “they” (which at this time
would be referring to the government) were the ones that changed the week
celebration to a month, and President Gerald Ford comments on the new Black
History Month encouraged all Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the
too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of
endeavor throughout our history”.
Acknowledging that the year 1926 was a lot different from today, I guess
African Americans were content with getting the spotlight on our culture for
just one month, but should be as content with that in the year 2013? That’s why I say…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
At this time, I want everyone to
look at his or her calendars and tell me what day Frederick Douglass is? It should be in February… right? Go ahead, I’ll wait… waits…starts to hum
the jeopardy theme song to myself
Ok, did you see it? NO! Of course
you didn’t see it because it’s not there.
So now think about it, there’s a Presidents Day, an Abraham Lincoln Day,
and a George Washington Day all in February.
This means that on Black History Month, George Washington and Abraham
Lincoln are both acknowledged TWICE as many times as Frederick Douglass and he
was born and died in the same month.
Also, when you look at some of the commercials that are aired on
television (Subway is one for sure) you’ll see their ads show characters Abe
Lincoln and George Washington all the time, but no Frederick Douglass at
all. Doesn’t surprise me at all. So once
again…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
The problem I see is that people
love to boast our countries diversity, yet the citizens of the United States,
regardless of what color, always find a way to keep everyone segregated. What about the comments Morgan Freeman said
about Black History Month. Some of his
quotes were, “You’re gonna regulate my history to a month?” and “Black History
is American History”. Is he speaking the truth?
Truth be told, Black history SHOULD be talked about yearlong because it
IS just as American is White History. Are all of the historical accomplishments
made by African Americans only worthy for acknowledgement in the month of
February? Do you know that some schools
are letting parents know that they are NOT partaking in teaching African
American history in February? They send
letters to the parents and ask if you are ok with that. Should you be? Maybe as an African American parent you are
ok with it because you have taken the initiative to teach your children about
African American history. Maybe you do
not rely on the school systems or the media to tell your children about African
Americans role in AMERICAN history. Or…maybe
you do. Good luck with that. But as for me, I still say…
F**K BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
Let me conclude by asking this one question: If
America was to eliminate Black History month in exchange for equal historical
acknowledgement towards ALL races year long, would that be fine with you? Hmmm… Think about it. Thanks for
reading. PEACE!
(P.S. I didn't write this for the sake of people to agree with me. I don't mind if anyone disagrees. If you disagree, tell me why. Discussion often leads to progression.)
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