February 1st is the first day of Black History Month, designated to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments and contributions that Black people have made in the history in the United States - and also to recognize what was taken from Black people in the centuries of slavery and Jim Crow laws. As a white American, my appreciation of Black History Month is inspired by the historical people and events left out of the history we were taught in school.
Any criticism of Black History Month is based on ignorance. What I have learned is that I was not taught a very thorough history of America - I was taught carefully selected and limited history from a white perspective. Life has taught me that African-Americans contributed more to the making of America than I was led to believe. The recognition and the teaching of Black history does not portend to replace white history - it simply adds Black history to the overall history of the United States.
The role slavery played in the making of America was not taught in schools. The depictions of slavery were void of the tangible impact Black Americans had on building this country. One out of four cowboys were Black, yet the image of cowboys from popular entertainment is that of white cowboys. A Black mathematician named Katherine Johnson played an integral part in the U.S. space program’s ability to send men into orbit and to the moon. The idea for vaccines was introduced from African culture. An African-American named Dr. Gladys West discovered the calculations that led to modern-day GPS. And the Tulsa Race Massacre was motivated by white America’s jealousy of the financial success of what became known as “Black Wall Street.”
The aforementioned are just a few examples of the types of things that were essentially omitted from history. Had more Black history been taught in our schools, perhaps white America would have had a better collective attitude toward African-Americans. The elimination of the actual history of African-Americans in the context of building America did not allow the deserved legacy that should have been afforded that vital part of the U.S. population.
Black History Month should not be viewed as the creation of history for the purpose of falsely lifting up Black Americans. This month’s emphasis on Black history recognizes the rightful contributions of a segment of the population that had not been treated equally because of a general white bias.
Some people will inevitably ask - there is no White History Month because there was never a need for White History Month. As an American, I don’t want to know history that is skewed through a prism of White bias. I want the full and fair history of all of those who contributed to the building of America. Don’t you?
