It’s that time of year again – Black History Month. If you guessed Valentine’s Day, that’s okay. Cupid and his arrows usually over shadow black history every February.
Please, I repeat please spare me your angry Wikipedia-researched, self-centered, my great great great great grandfather was a farmer letters. My grandmother is older than Jim Crow, for goodness sake.
Let me make this clear: black history does not begin with slavery. The first enslaved person of African descent arrived in Jamestown in 1619, but the history of African people began long before then.
Stop telling black people what Martin Luther King Jr. would say if he were alive. We would know if he were assassinated by the government. If King were alive, I believe he would be upset to see that some white people still treat race issues like they did in the 60s.
Complaining about not having a month or day solves nothing. Educate yourself first. If you do some research, you would know that African Americans are not the only marginalized group that has a month. March is National Women’s History Month, May Asian Pacific American Heritage, and Jewish American Heritage month June is Gay Lesbian Pride month, etc.
Open a book or surf the web and educate yourself about what people of African descent have suffered. 245 years of slavery and 77 years of Jim Crow African American’s deserve a month. We deserve the entire year.
I understand that this generation is responsible for slavery itself. However our generation isn’t too far removed from slavery and the Jim Crow era. Slavery ended in 1865 that was only 151 years ago. Jim Crow ended in the 1960’s, barley 50 years ago. Many of our parents and grand parents lived through the Jim Crow era. Which water fountain did your grandfather drink from?
Ask yourself the question Jane Elliott asked once, “Would you want to be treated the way African Americans are in society?” Ask it until you feel comfortable answering yes to that question. There is still work to be done. The fight for equality must continue.
We will always need a Black History Month, until everyone realizes race is a social and economic issue. If you follow these dos and don’ts, the fight for equality will continue to grow strong. Most importantly, don’t do blackface; it is never okay.
