The month of February is defined by various holidays including Groundhog's Day, Valentines Day, President's Day, George Washington's birthday and Cherry Pie Day. Actually, February is full of holidays that recognize the inclusive nature of American culture.
It's also Black History Month in case anybody has forgotten.
Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in the early 20th century, which became the precursor to Black History Month. Woodson, a civil rights activist throughout life, stated, "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated."
The goal of Black History Month is to emphasize and educate all Americans of the contributions African Americans have made throughout history. Though the inventions and pieces of art produced from African Americans are great, little recognition is given to these noteworthy Americans.
The entire concept of designating one month to the study of African American history is absurd. Instead of singling out a significant portion of the American population, a constant education about minority contributions should be implemented. Simply setting aside 28 days to cover the entirety of African American culture is absurd. In all reality, highlighting the great many great African American thinkers only one month out of the year is an utter slap in the face.
Why does the American education system feel the need to separate African American history from American history? Aren't these two histories integral parts of one another? Why are teachers waiting until February to teach about the Harlem Renaissance? Why wait until Black History Month to study the Tuskegee Airmen? Why aren't high school students reading novels by Toni Morrison or Zora Neale Hurston instead of Herman Melville or Nathaniel Hawthorne?
Continually integrating and highlighting the contributions of African Americans into each unit of study would eliminate the need for Black History Month. Applying the same thought process would also displace the need for Women's History Month (March), Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) and American Indian Heritage Month (November). The contributions of various minorities deserve to be valued as highly as the typical group of dead white guys students constantly study.
In no way should the contributions of these minority thinkers be disregarded. Instead, America should have enough respect and common sense to integrate these contributions into the regular curriculum. There should not be the need to underscore certain groups of people as this practice subsequently forces others to be ignored.
Ideally there should not be a need to designate certain months to certain groups. America should embrace the differences each culture brings to society instead of ostracizing groups of unique heritages. The United States is a culturally diverse nation with many citizens from across the globe. America should not expect immigrants and minorities to completely assimilate into the American culture, but rather people should define the characteristics of the American culture.
The notion that America is a melting pot where people integrate and ultimately adopt a foreign way of life is inherently flawed. Essentially, the melting pot metaphor asks people to completely discard native influences while assuming a foreign and abstract notion of American culture. In the end, failing to recognize differences between ethnicities in everyday life ultimately creates events like Black History Month that explicitly point out differences.
However, as it stands now I'll be sure to blast my stereo full of hip-hop, jazz, and rock n' roll music during the full month of February to educate myself about African American culture. After all, it is Black History Month and that's what you're supposed to do, right?
Write to Travis at tjoneill@bsu.edu
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