By Jamel Brown When tackling the topic of Black History Month, let's first talk about when it was first widely recognized. Black History Month was seen as a national observance in 1976. Black History Month was created in order to recognize important historical figures that led to movements and events to help stop unfair treatment against African Americans. These historical leaders also helped pave the way for many other African American role models. As time advances, the reasons for the celebration of Black History Month will change. Now that the problem of segregation of African Americans is gone, new problems come to light. Problems such as the injustice of the African American victims due to police brutality and systematic racism. Compared to when Black History Month was first created, the problems and events that were celebrated elevates with the constant change in an openness of society. We now recognize and honor the countless amounts of African Americans who have died due to unprovoked police brutality. With the invention of social media came the appearance of new important platforms for everyday African Americans to voice their political opinions. These changes about why Black History Month is celebrated also includes the fact that you no longer have to be a person of immense talent or political power in order for your opinion to be heard and reciprocated. For example, during the time that Black History Month was first being celebrated, people learned about it through current events and experiences that they had, while in today's society we can learn an immense amount of African American history through the shared experiences of people who are like me - in a lot more detail than the curriculum at school teaches us - because they share the same experiences because of the shared race.
2 Comments
Daniel Hart
3/1/2021 08:58:13 am
Great thinking on Black History Month. I was wondering about when you said segregation is over. There are many scholars and academics who would argue that segregation still exists but instead of it being legal, it's just "de facto," meaning it's happening anyway. Redlining and white flight play a big part in that.
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Lynn Girven
3/1/2021 12:02:08 pm
Perhaps, Black History Month should be incorporated into the curriculum so that all points of view are heard and respected?
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