Saturday, February 16, 2008

KonBan'wa

Hello faithful few, its that time again. I need theme music! LOL! I want to talk to you briefly about "Black History Month." It originated back in 1926 through the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The original name was "Negro History Week." He created the week so that people could be educated about the contributions of "African-Americans" in our society. It would also be a way for our people to recognize those of us who were trying to and succeeding I might add, in making a difference in our society. He picked the second week of February as "Negro History Week," so as to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln(two prominent leaders who proved most influential in the early civil rights movement). It evolved from being the second week in February to becoming the entire month of February and being known as "Black History Month," in 1976.

I can recall in elementary school getting excited about the first of every year. One, my birthday came around(January 12th, for those of you who don't know!) and two, in approximately 4 weeks it would be "Black History Month." I have always been a history nut, but when it came to "Black History," I really became enamored with history. I loved hearing about all the different African-Americans(I will expand on my feelings on being labeled "Black" or "African-American" in a later post to come.) and the stories that came along with their struggles and achievements.

The more and more, I progressed through my early schooling, I began to question why we only had a month. I mean when we speak of Columbus and the Industrial Revolution, World War I and World War II, we are not confined to a month. So why is it when it comes to "Black America," is this necessary? How is this possible that we, as a people are only given a month, when we have contributed so much to this country? How can we, a people who was removed from our homeland and had to persevere through so much, be only given a month? Most of our achievements are not even listed in our so-called "history books." These are just a few things on my mind that I hope will get you thinking. I got lots more to come.

I know it seems as though I am leaving you guys kind of abruptly but I feel as though this post is a great starter for next weeks' post and the following weeks' post. So buckle up! I am back in full swing.

Until next week sometime, namaste and stay strong...

1 comment:

Sheeta Boo said...

My local gospel radio station has an 'African American in History Highlight' Every day...I guess sometimes I don't realize that other people don't have that privilege.