The History of Black History Month

Here we are again, another February, another Black History Month, another few moments spent wondering if I’m going to see the same old stories and advertisements trotted out by the media “in honor of Black History Month”. Here we go again.

This time, though, I started to think about the whole deal. Who is Black History month for, anyway? Who benefits? I used to think the idea was to recognize the contributions that certain high-achieving Black people made to our great country, in an effort to neutralize the lingering effects of racial prejudice. The concept that maybe if people are exposed to the stories of folks like George Washington Carver and his numerous peanut-related inventions, then those same people will not think so badly of black people, or at least not lump them all in the gangsta-rap, ho’s and bitches stereotype.

Whether this has worked or not is certainly up for discussion.

Then there are those that believe that Black History month is for the benefit of Black people, Black Americans in particular. They say this is a time to celebrate our “blackness” and revel in the stories of folks like Granville Woods, who invented a telegraph that allowed moving trains to communicate with other trains. Some say we should use these stories to motivate our children, and remind them that they, too, can do great things. Part of this argument also includes the accusation that the nation’s schools give short shrift to Black History during the course of the normal school year, so Black History Month is a way of forcing the curriculum to include these stories.

Well, instead of my continuing to make up stuff off the top of my head, I turned to Google, which returned this History of Black History by Elissa Haney. I was quite surprised to find that this tradition started not in the turbulent era of Civil Rights, but way back in 1926! Back then, it was called Negro History Week, and it was set in February because the month marks the birthdays “of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.”

The truth of the matter is this: there are a large number of Americans that have accomplished great things, and we would all do well to learn more about them. In this way, perhaps, we can learn more about ourselves. But American History has historically (sorry) ignored the achievements, accomplishments and contributions of its people of color, and Black History Month has, in its own small way, worked to bring light to some of them. I just wish the people who REALLY need the lessons… those folks in the so-called flyover states, those people who live in non-diverse regions… it is my fervent hope that they benefit from the lessons of Black History Month.

Call me an optimist.

More later...
Paul