Shortest Month Of The Year

February can be a time of love and laughter for some, but for many African-Americans, it is a time of pride and power. It is a time that once, our stories are once highlighted and are interwoven in the fabric of American history, our triumphs and tribulations, all retold in the neverending saga of America’s history. As wonderful as it is to have a time to reflect on our history, it seems that on March 1, suddenly that history does not matter anymore, and it becomes just as neglected as any other part of the year, regulated to the shortest month of the year.

As nice as it is to have a time to analyze and study our history, why is it that the deep history of African-Americans seems constricted to a single month? Why is it that in school we only talk about Dr. King on MLK Day, rarely speak about Malcolm, and remain remiss discussing the writings of James Baldwin? Why is African American history restricted to slavery and segregation, the lows but never the highs? Even though many times achievement is made in adversity, we should feel free to explore the never-ending story of African-American history, not just during February. As important as white history is, African-American history should be just as incorporated when teaching.

Even though African-American history is a diverse subject on its own, people should be willing to understand how it is essentially intertwined and how important it is to American history. Not only should we learn about the lows, we should learn about the heights of African Americans across each year, analyzing and reflecting the good and the bad because, as George Santayana said, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If we want to pride ourselves on creating an inclusive curriculum or an inclusive culture within our school, we should not just learn about black history one month of the year. Because without African-American culture and history, much of what we consider American would be completely unrecognizable, such as contributions to the arts, culture, science, and more. Black history month is vital to maintainingmainting a consciousness with society and the past and the ways those two interact, yet an understanding of black history outside of FebruaryFebuary is equally crucial. Black history should be remembered and spoken about frequently in other parts of the year, instead of being a neglected subject in other parts of the year. Because black history is American history, not only the tragedy of the past but also the hopeful vision of the future, and now.