To me, Black History Month is a double-edged sword. On one side, you have this beauty of acknowledging the too-long overlooked contributions of Black Americans to American history.
On the other edge of the sword, we have this emphasis on celebrating Black history once a year. Why is this? Racism and its undertones are fortunately waning but are still perceivable. And by the way, I’ve never heard of a White History Month. Why is that? Shouldn’t there be a month for all Americans? The Chinese, Muslims, Italians, Polish, Greek, Irish?
If not, the particular distinction is curious. Perhaps the undertone of guilt represents the fact that you already know in American society the motive for Black History Month.
Now, that is not to say that Black History Month is not beautiful. But how did we get in this circumstance?
We’d be a lot better off recognizing Humanity Day, every day.
Michael Craig is an artist/vendor for Street Sense Media.
