In the month of February, African Americans have the privilege to reminisce and honor the people that stood up for the rights and citizenship for black people. Some people take it as a time to condemn all Caucasians for the harsh treatment the African Americans received on the road to success. I am satisfied with the African American race for constantly instilling the people with information about how they had to fight for freedom, but should that be all they discuss during Black History Month? Many argue that the Caucasians should feel bad and go into hiding during Black History Month because of what their ancestors did and only talk about how they enslaved the black people and didn’t consider them as humans. I disagree, in order to fully understand black history, one must educate people on all aspects of black history.
Every year for Black History Month, the main names you hear are Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth. All of these people played a major role in black history but they are all connected to slavery. Should slavery be the chief topic during the black celebration.? Slavery should only be discussed at a minimum during Black History Month; African Americans only talk about what the “white man” did to slaves. What about how the Africans enslaved themselves? True enough, the Europeans approached the Africans with capturing their own people and trading them for weapons, but they listened and participated in the scandal now they want to complain and place liability on “the white man” for their downfall. Others refute that slavery should be discussed heavily not only during Black History Month but at any time and day. When slavery approaches the table eyes widen and mouths close. Few Caucasians try to j...
... middle of paper ...
...their roots and where they came from. African Americans knowing their roots is not all bitter and unhappiness. There are many great fortunes that African Americans experienced before and after slavery. Knowing your roots does not only mean knowing the trials and tribulations that the black people had to crawl through.
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.
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.
...olitical and judicial rights of free blacks, their social freedoms, opportunities for jobs and education, and religious freedom. Blacks who escaped enslavement, didn’t all go on to have perfect lives in the north. They still had to go through hardships and endure many burdens even though they were free. The reason it is important to learn about the life of free blacks in the north is that even though they were free, life wasn’t all that easy for them. This is important to learn because it clears up misconceptions that the north was a complete safe haven for slaves. They were free, but were not treated as equal beings and it was still hard for them. These things are important today because we see how much our country has changed. We need to know this because we can see how much we've changed for the better and use that as motivation to keep improving into the future.
Today I am here to convince you that although slavery happened hundreds of years ago, it still affects black people in America today.
African Americans who came to America to live the golden dream have been plagued with racism, discrimination and segregation throughout a long and complicated history of events that took place in the United States dating back to slavery to the civil rights movements. Today, African American history is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February which is designated Black History Month. This paper will look back into history beginning in the late 1800’s through modern day America and describe specific events where African Americans have endured discrimination, segregation, racism and have progressively gained rights and freedoms by pushing civil rights movement across America.
Black history month is an observance in the United States that is celebrated in the month of February to remember all of the important African Americans in history. This observance is still celebrated annually and brings forth a debatable question such as is there still a need to celebrate black history month. I strongly believe that Black history month still should be celebrated for several reasons one being that children need to know how African Americans contributed to society. Young African American children need to know their ethnicity background. The legendary icons who fought for whom was considered “colored” people need to be acknowledged. If were not for them the children in today's society would still be faced to deal with segregation. They need to have an understanding of what our ancestors and important African Americans had to go through to get us where we are today. We should celebrate black history month because it represents African Americans as a whole. By celebrating this month it shows that we fought for our rights and never gave up. It shows that we went through ...
Thought to contain a hundred years of one of the races of people that helped build and shape America as we know it. Being overlooked for centuries. IN 2003 Bush signed a law creating the African American history museum. It was one of the most educational and invigorating experiences of my life. Not many The museum is not only enlighten but enriching by capturing African American history in its entirety.
Specifically, if all people in America are perceived as equal, why is there a month dedicated for a specific minority group? This is used to showcase inequality that is subjected to the black group since if all people were equal then they should act like it and stop dedicating a month to a single group. Essentially, the Black History Month teaches race history. This is direct inequality and would be eliminated through the celebration of something like American History Month that would be dedicated to teaching all races. In addition, whatever the contributions that the black population has made in the U.S should be labeled as American and not Black.
It must be noted that for the purpose of avoiding redundancy, the author has chosen to use the terms African-American and black synonymously to reference the culture, which...
African American history plays a huge role in history today. From decades of research we can see the process that this culture went through and how they were depressed and deculturalized. In school, we take the time to learn about African American History but, we fail to see the aspects that African Americans had to overcome to be where they are today. We also fail to view life in their shoes and fundamentally understand the hardships and processes that they went through. African Americans were treated so terribly and poor in the last century and, they still are today. As a subordinate race to the American White race, African Americans were not treated equal, fair, human, or right under any circumstances. Being in the subordinate position African Americans are controlled by the higher white group in everything that they do.
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.
No one can quite say how Woodson would feel about about the way black history is commemorated today. One thing we do know is that America has come along way since the ASALH was first created in 1915. People appreciate and recognize the history and achievement of African Americans significantly more than they did one hundred years ago. It can be assumed that that would make Woodson proud of just how far Negro Achievement Week and the ASALH have come.
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.
While I never knew my father, I did grow to know the challenges faced by African Americans. I first began to feel different when I transferred from public to private middle school. People began asking about my ethnicity for the first time in my life. Until this time, it had never seemed important. Although I had never been overly fond of my curly hair, it, along with other traits deemed too 'ethnic' looking, now became a source of shame. I had a few not so affectionate nicknames because of those curls. I was shocked to realize that people considered me different or less desirable because of these physical traits. Being turned away from an open house in my twenties was just as shocking as being ...
...ncestors and why things are different now. People can learn a lot about their ancestors and things of the past through music. Music tells the stories of what happened in the past. It exposes what people have gone through to get to where things are now. Understanding the culture and history allows the people of today to become more appreciative of the things that the past generations have done to make things better. African Americans have endured a lot of hardships throughout history and it is important to know that and realize that people today do not have it as hard as they did. African Americans no longer have to experience things such as slavery and segregation because some of the black people of past generations were courageous enough to fight for equality. Although hatred and racism still exists, it is not as prevalent and boldly shown as it was in their time.