Is Black History Month Still Relevant?
With the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, those who already viewed Black History Month as outdated and worthy of extinction have seized this period of racial optimism to call for the elimination of the 28-day commemoration. In 2005, actor Morgan Freeman denounced Black History Month during a “60 Minutes” interview as “ridiculous,” asking, “You’re going to relegate my history to a month?”
Since February 1 of this year, leading columnists from major newspapers have posed similar questions about this month, which is the legacy of historian Carter G. Woodson, who created Negro History Week in 1926. Cynthia Tucker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, wrote that “the commemoration is a damaging form of apartheid” and “the nation of Tiger Woods, Oprah and Barack Obama no longer needs a Black History Month.” Tony Norman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette argued, “Now that Barack Obama and his family have moved into the White House, it’s time to rethink the holiday Carter G. Woodson came up with nearly a century ago. Times have changed. Even the Republicans have a black guy running the party. Maybe February can go back to being for all of us.”
Nevertheless, Faye V. Harrison, a professor of anthropology at the University of Florida, said it’s shortsighted and “politically naïve” to say Black History Month is no longer relevant. “It [the election] says something about how far we have come, but it doesn’t say anything about how far we have to go,” she said. “I don’t think we can afford to forget about it.” Indeed, while I admire Freeman’s passion and agree with the spirit of his convictions, I disagree with his conclusions. Although “African American history is American history,” and as such should be integrated into the fabric of our education and daily consciousness, it also warrants particular attention.
America’s promise, past, present, and future will always be tied to, and measured by, the socioeconomic status of African Americans. No matter how much we grow, and no matter how unified we become, we will always be a post-slave and Jim Crow society. Black History Month, therefore, will never be obsolete. It will always be in our best interest to pause and explore the meaning of freedom through the lived experiences of a people who forced America to be true to its creed and reaffirmed the American dream. Those who would eliminate Black History Month, therefore, often miss the point. Should we educate ourselves about black history throughout the year? Of course we should. Should we also take time out to acknowledge the fact that, without African Americans, our understanding of “freedom and justice for all” would not exist? Yes.
If treated seriously and executed effectively, Black History Month could stimulate more concern for inclusive and probing educational curricula, inter-cultural communication, and democracy itself. Knowledge of African American history is essential to comprehending our nation’s character, and we should do everything that we can to ensure that all Americans know precisely who we are and how we came to be. Moreover, Black History Month not only reminds of how far we’ve come, given all of the challenges that remain, it also reminds us of how far we still must go.
Arizona Republic
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Dr. Matthew C. Whitaker is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, and an Affiliate Faculty member of African and African American Studies and the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University in Tempe. He is also the CEO of The Whitaker Group, L.L.C., a consulting firm that specializes in diversity and human relations.