Black History is part of American history. We shouldn't need to celebrate a separate Negro History month by itself because of how its ingrained in the very fabric of our country. BUT, it makes me mad every time I hear a non-Black person try to make that argument? Why? Because our history still doesn't get taught like American history. You can eliminate a month long celebration ("the Man" gave us the shortest month of the year conveniently) when you start incorporating all of the history taught then in traditional textbooks. But we all know that's not gonna happen. White ppl are more comfortable given credit to so much ancient knowledge (philosophy, mathematics, early medicine, etc) to the Greeks and Romans than to the Civilizations of Kemit (the white man renamed it Egypt) and Timbuktu; these were the African knowledge centers that foreigners often visited to learn but they won't tell you that. It's convenient to say Christopher Columbus discovered America because he sailed for the right people who spread the world, made the maps, etc. Evidence shows that Asians and Africans made it to North America some 75-80 years before Columbus; but of course that's swept under the rug. But let me bring it back to an American level. When Lewis Latimer takes his rightful place in textbooks as the man whose filament was key to making Thomas Edison's light bulb work, we won't need Black History Month. When ppl realize that the people they credit for inventing Rock & Roll (the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis, etc) gained their influence (and in the case of the Rolling Stones, their group name) from Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and little known Ike Turner, we may not need Black History month. When textbooks reflect that the Civil Rights Movement was much more than choice MLK soundbites and acknowledge the contributions of many more involved individuals (including the very misunderstood Malcolm X, pictured above with Muhammad Ali), we may not need Black History Month. Speaking unheralded Civil Rights activism, Ali - as well as Bill Russell, Jim Brown, and others of the time period - brought a social consciousness and activism in society and politics that athletes are now entirely unwilling to engage in for financial reasons; this should be documented. The first Black millionaire, Madam CJ Walker, should be listed as a great entrepreneur for her success in a time of racial oppression. George Washington Carver should be recognized as one of the brighter scientific minds of the 20th century, he has hundreds of valuable patents, mention more than just Peanut Butter. Benjamin Banneker should be listed as a great Architect and city planner as well. I could go on for days. Our textbooks must shed their current bias and educate our youth more comprehensively about the contributions from people of all colors, creeds, and religions. Mother fuckers need to stop disrespecting my history. Until then, use February to learn yourself and educate others for Black History. Here are the names of 28 ppl I've been posting on Facebook (one for each day) to educate others. If you don't know them, Google them...
- Lewis Latimer
- Muddy Waters & Chuck Berry
- Doug Williams (Super Bowl Special)
- Walter Massey
- Thurgood Marshall
- Stepin Fetchit
- Romare Bearden
- Ruth Simmons
- Pearl Bailey
- Madam CJ Walker
- John H. Johnson
- Jill Elaine Brown
- Ida B. Wells
- Hiram Revels
- Hazel W. Johnson
- Gwendolyn Brooks
- Gordon Parks
- Garrett A. Morgan
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Berry Gordy
- Booker T Washington/W.E.B. DuBois
- Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Jr.
- Ben Carson
- Alvin Ailey
- Alexandre Dumas
- Charles Drew
- Ralph Bunche
- Benjamin Banneker
No comments:
Post a Comment