What Black History Month Should Be
By Theodore Johnson, Huffington Post, January 30, 2014
Black History Month is upon us once again, and with it comes a parade of facts to enlighten the nation on the contributions blacks have made to America. There will be children reciting famous lines from “I Have A Dream,” high school students writing about George Washington Carver and his peanuts and probably some game shows questions on African-American inventors. Once March arrives, the nation will collectively pat itself on the back for having done its due diligence in paying homage to a few heroic black figures.
If this is all that happens, then the month has been for naught.
The rote recitation of black achievements is an abridged version of a rich history presented as a sloppily composed slide presentation. Facts are important, of course, but they are wholly insufficient. If this is indeed the extent of the celebration, we will have missed another opportunity to bring the black American experience to life and render from it its true, intrinsic value.
The current aim of Black History Month should not be the construction of a mere timeline of events and personas. Instead, it should be to explore the many and varied journeys of our black citizens today. This approach will inherently intersect with the seminal moments in black history while also providing an accompanying personal narrative that commands a deeper appreciation. In this way, facts in textbooks leap off the page and become life-changing inspirations more accessible to all Americans.
