By: Tiffani C. Dawson
“Negro History Week” was created by Cater G. Woodson to be a temporary acknowledgement of Negro history until Blacks would be given their rightful place in American textbooks.
Cater G. Woodson creator of “Negro History Week”
Photo Courtesy: African American History Month Profiles
In 1926 when “Negro History Week” was expanded into “Black History Month” it was not an accomplishment for the Black community but rather an admission by the American government and education system that no such social advancement will ever be made.
Woodson would be disappointed to find in 2013; the goals of “Negro History Week” have not been realized, instead there is a vain attempt to extract Black history from American history and has been reluctantly accepted as a replacement.
Books from the ‘American History’ of the Queens Public Library
My friend and I often debate if W.E.B. Du Bois will forever be correct when he discussed the opposing tides of being both a Black man and an American. As much as I constantly assert my pride as an American, this month serves to correct my words: I am a Black American and my experience is unique in this country.
Baruch College’s BHM Banner
When Morgan Freeman stated, “I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history,” I was tempted to agree. But that has never been the way American history has been presented. Eliminating Black History Months runs the risk of eliminating the 400 years of contributions Blacks have made in this country and throughout the world.
This year’s Black History Month theme: “At the Crossroad of Freedom and Equality” is acrimoniously ironic because there’s no proof that such a crossroad even exists.
