Black History Importance
The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society. However, many of us only know brief histories regarding these excellent black men and women, because many of our teachers have posters with brief synopses describing the achievements of such men and women. The Black students at this University need to realize that the accomplishments of African Americans cannot be limited to one month per year, but should be recognized everyday of every year both in our schools and in our homes.
Black History Month began as Negro History Week in 1926. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a scholar known as the Father of Negro History, started the celebration of Black accomplishments and contributions. Negro History Week in the 1920’s was a victory for Black Americans, because we were still suffering from the infringements of slavery and trying to gain a sense of identity as human beings and as a group of people with a history and a culture. Similarly, Black History Month was sensible in the 1960’s, because Black Americans had a sense of nationalistic pride that influence ou...
... middle of paper ...
...e time television depicts Black Americans as people who do not know how to speak proper English, live in the projects and ghettos, and procreate beyond our existence so that all we can do is rob the system and depend on welfare for our sustenance. These depictions are very stereotypical and negative. Martin R. Delany, a renowned Black American who wrote a book that discussed the attributes of a black man said that Black Americans should foster a sense of pride because of our complex and unique history. We need to bind together and “Lift up Every Voice” (Black national hymn) to make sure our past and future histories are not forgotten, not just by us but by every American. The legacy of Black History Month is an achievement we all should be proud of, but for Peace’s Sake do not let others undermine your past and accomplishments and do not forget your own history.
This documentary not only talks about a significant period in African American and American history; it also gives us a mo...
Most public schools in the United States kept it simple and straight to the point. They taught, what we know as, “Black History” from the media’s standpoint. This concept neglects the true meaning of black history in the educational system, making it hard for African Americans to be prideful in who they are. Knowing history other than what the school systems tells us African Americans would not only give us more knowledge, but would allow us to stand up against others when try to put down our history. Media gives us mainly negative perspectives with very little positives of our
David W. Blight's book Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory and the American Civil War, is an intriguing look back into the Civil War era which is very heavily studied but misunderstood according to Blight. Blight focuses on how memory shapes history Blight feels, while the Civil War accomplished it goal of abolishing slavery, it fell short of its ultimate potential to pave the way for equality. Blight attempts to prove that the Civil War does little to bring equality to blacks. This book is a composite of twelve essays which are spilt into three parts. The Preludes describe blacks during the era before the Civil War and their struggle to over come slavery and describes the causes, course and consequences of the war. Problems in Civil War memory describes black history and deals with how during and after the war Americans seemed to forget the true meaning of the war which was race. And the postludes describes some for the leaders of black society and how they are attempting to keep the memory and the real meaning of the Civil War alive and explains the purpose of studying historical memory.
Although an effort is made in connecting with the blacks, the idea behind it is not in understanding the blacks and their culture but rather is an exploitative one. It had an adverse impact on the black community by degrading their esteem and status in the community. For many years, the political process also had been influenced by the same ideas and had ignored the black population in the political process (Belk, 1990). America loves appropriating black culture — even when black people themselves, at times, don’t receive much love from America.
The African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience. Ed. Gabriel Burns Stepto. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2003.
As an African American, I am delighted to see my history acknowledged but when information is not being broaden and explained correctly people are still left ignorant. If Black History Month is going to be celebrated, then present it the right way. It doesn’t have to always be about killing, depression, and what occurred fifty years ago. African Americans should continue to update their presentations on black achievements every year. Something fresh and new needs to be displayed instead of the same people and situations year after year.
...pare the second bomb. Only later, when evidence was found on plutonium based bomb that they had decided to surrender, without the second bomb it’s believed that they would have fought on. When the atomic bomb was dropped, it actually impressed the Soviets who were needed as an important strategic consideration. Another reason to drop the atomic bomb was to show Americas might and authority over other countries.
Next is John Henrik Clark, who refers to African America Studies as Africana Studies because he believes that Black tells you how you look, not who you are. He goes on to state that he calls African American Studies “a dilemma at the crossroads of history” (Clark 32). This is because European people knew history well enough to distort it and use it, as well as political weapons such as the gun and bible, to control the world. This is the reason why a look at African culture will show what Africana Studies are about or should be about. Africana Studies should embrace the Africans all around the world, in places like Africa, North and South America, the Caribbean Islands even those in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Clarke states that Africa is
The Black History Month is guided by racism, which is still prevalent in the U.S. One of the reasons why this month is full of racism is the first reason that Morgan Freeman puts cross, which is relegating a race’s entire history to a month. This simply shows that the whites view the blacks as people who have had the least contribution in that country. This is because the entire history of the black population is taught to the children in this month implying that all the achievements made by blacks are so little that they can be analyzed in a month. The other reason why the Black History Month shows racism is the idea that it was fixed in the shortest month of the year to further show how few the accomplishments made by blacks are. Since the accomplishments made by the blacks are only taught during this month, it shows that the teachers would not have to bother themselves with it any other time throu...
Imagine this; the year is 1836. You are a 17-year-old student interested in learning more about the world around you; however, such an opportunity won’t come your way because you are black. Due to this fact you have no hope of furthering your education past the reading, writing, and arithmetic their slave masters taught your parents. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. The minds of many African American’s go to waste due to individual ignorance of their people and thus of themselves. Historically Black Colleges and Universities were put into effect to educate the black mind and eliminate the ignorance. The discussion of whether Historically Black Colleges and Universities are still necessary in the 21st century has taken place in recent years. Within the discussion many debate that due to the fact that the world is no longer like it was in the 1800’s, the time period in which Historically Black Colleges and Universities were created, the purpose of them no longer exists. However, the cultural significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities seems to be overlooked by those who argue their importance and relevance in a time where blacks have the option of attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The purpose and grounds on which Historically Black Colleges and Universities were developed are still being served. The need to increase efforts to not only rouse, but support Historically Black Colleges and Universities is necessary now more than ever in order to preserve our past, fulfill the purpose of our present, and ensure our future.
In 1986 President Ronald Reagan and the United States Congress passed a law 99 to 244 members, which formally established black history month as a federally designated observance. During the 1980’s the concept black history month spread internationally. The United Kingdom the greater London council and a coalition of African European leaders helped to initiate a black history month in Britain, which is observed in October. It is imperative that we continue to fight for black history month. Black History Month is an integral part of our nation’s custom in which we continue to encourage positive models of touching historical events, by showing outstanding leadership, diversity and steps towards cultural change. In 1926, Woodson stated that this remembrance is not only profoundly momentous for the African American community, but imperative for the greater understanding of national and world history. It is connected to the ironic history of this nation, and by honoring Black History Month everyone can be included in a tradition of acknowledgement, insertion and community engagement. Historical knowledge is no more than critically observing the past and carefully constructing the future. We should have more educational curricular activities related to black history
The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to improve the state of being for African-Americans.
Texts are a representation of their context and this is evident in Robert Stevenson’s novella: “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, where many values of late nineteenth century Victorian England values were reflected through the themes of the novel using language and structural features. These values included: technological advances, reputation and masculinity and are demonstrated in the text through literary and structure devices as well as the characterisation of the main character.
Black history month is mainly a month that promotes racism among society. In nineteen seventy-six, America names February as black history month, as a commemoration of significant events and individuals of the African-American ancestry. Even though, black history month started as an innocent idea and if the American government would have rejected it, there would have been a colossal backlash across the black community. However, if one would take a step back and look at the big picture, one would notice that black history is American history, shows that not all ethnic groups is treated equally and brings a past time up that pours salt in old wounds. Under those circumstances, there should not be a black history month in the United States
Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.