The continuing purpose of Black History Month

If you go into any public school, you are likely to see photos and information about Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks. During this month, students learn about the accomplishments of African-Americans, communities put on events, and the media celebrates African-Americans. Being in the 21st century, many people question if this heritage month, and others like it, is really needed.
Roderick Sylvester, a sophomore middle grades education major, said that Black History Month is necessary.
“I think Black History Month is definitely important, all for the sake of enforcing the fact that our heritage is very rich and worthy of a celebration,” Sylvester said. “However, I think we, as African-Americans, can do a better job in acknowledging the month in realizing just how far we’ve come as a people and as a culture.”
What is now known as Black History Month began as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. He chose to take on the task of writing black Americans into the United State’s history. He created Negro History Week to bring national attention to the roles of black people throughout American History. He selected the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two men who he felt greatly impacted the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The week changed to Black History Month in 1976.
Andréa Walker, a sophomore pre-optometry major, said Black History Month is still needed and is still important, not just for African-Americans, but for everyone.
“It’s a big part of what’s happened here in the U.S., and I don’t think that it should be forgotten. The purpose of having Black History Month is to make sure minorities are not forgotten. The majority is never forgotten,” Walker said. “We all learn about the presidents of the past… A lot of people, even now, as long as we’ve had Black History Month, don’t know black history and what we’ve contributed.”
Walker said that displaying information about black achievement would most likely cause people to want to learn more.
“I think (Black History Month) invokes people to research and try to further understand beyond what you just learn in the classroom, which I think is really important,” Walker said. “I did a bulletin board on lupus awareness and a girl came up to me and said, ‘I have lupus, and I appreciate that you put that up there because a lot of people don’t know about my disease.’ A lot of people don’t know about Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, Asian History Month; they’re all important. I know mainstream, White culture and history; I need to know about minority history, stuff that you don’t learn in the classroom all the time.”
Kelly Millsaps, a sophomore creative writing major, said black history is just as important as anything else taught in history classes.
“I think it’s important to remember our past and what has happened,” Millsaps said. “It’s a good way to educate people on matters they may not otherwise know.”
Millsaps said that while people who say there should be a White History Month have a point, Black History Month is still needed.
“If everyone else has it, why not one for Caucasians?,” Millsaps said. “A lot of what we learn about is White, European males already, so I guess it’s not necessary to have a month dedicated to it.”
Sophomore biology and pre-med major Tameka Dean said she thinks this heritage month is important, but that it’s a little amount of time that people use for a lot of information.
“I think it’s a little like a cram session of black history, but it’s better one month than none,” Dean said. “Usually in textbooks we read a little section on slavery, and we might get a few sentences, or if we’re lucky, maybe a paragraph, but it gives us a month to actually be proud of being black. It should be celebrated year round, but I’ll take a month.”
Senior creative writing major Joey Hall said Black History Month is important, but it should encompass more than what is typically learned.
“It’s obviously necessary, but the only thing I every remember learning about Black History Month besides Martin Luther King is that George Washington Carver came up with like a million ways to use the peanut,” Hall said. “I mean, it’s got to be more to it than that.”
Hall said that the idea of Black History Month being more than about King or Carver is not realized.
“Black History Month extends beyond (Martin Luther King and Civil Rights). There’s more to it (than that).”
Karla White, a sophomore Chemistry and pre-pharmacy major, said the month is necessary and helps Americans work toward a future founded on the principles of tolerance, patience and equality.
“Black History Month is important because it allows everyone to be optimistic about the path race relations are on,” said White.

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Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 16 2007. Filed under Perspectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry