February reflections
President Bush made mention of Coretta Scott King's passing away at the beginning of his address, and recounts of her life were all over NPR Tuesday, at least here in DC. I was thinking it's a bit unfortunate that the first lady of civil rights died the day before Black History Month.
But you know what's really unfortunate? The fact that we still need a Black History Month. I mean, I feel I had a reasonably full and progressive education, but the only things that really come to mind when I think historical black figures are soap made from peanuts, civil rights and the traffic light. There will be a time when history lessons fully capture the diverse set of people who have left their mark on this country, but if my feeble recollections serve as any indication, that time is not yet here.
But you know what's really unfortunate? The fact that we still need a Black History Month. I mean, I feel I had a reasonably full and progressive education, but the only things that really come to mind when I think historical black figures are soap made from peanuts, civil rights and the traffic light. There will be a time when history lessons fully capture the diverse set of people who have left their mark on this country, but if my feeble recollections serve as any indication, that time is not yet here.
posted by onlooker at 1:19 AM
3 Comments:
Really? You don't think of jazz or R&B, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, or any of the other great black authors? I do. But I suppose there's a reason I focus more on contributions to culture than to politics. And I think it's somewhat contrived to separate historical figures out into black or white, even if the balance is uneven.
And another thing. If you think the need for Black History Month is sad, let's talk about how we have Hispanic History Month and American Indian History Month and nobody even cares. (http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/about.html) At least Black History Month gets people's attention.
I think what I was trying to get at was that, when thinking of Black History Month, many people have a kind of ghettoized view of black history, whether it's a list of black inventors and politicians or a small group of cultural icons and "black" art forms. What the month needs be about is not perpetuating this view with more endless lists of celebrity african americans, but reinforcing the reality that our history is one that includes all kids of people, that you can't talk about the American revolution or the civil war or our country's ingenuity and just name a bunch of white guys. The heroes of black history month need to be mainstreamed and their contributions fully integrated into the whole of our history. I don't think we're there, and I think that's sad.
Maybe the messaging of various heritage months needs to include lists of individuals whose actions deserve recognition, but the real thrust should be a challenge to the way history is taught and understood in this country.
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