February also celebrates Black History month. While I probably should have written about this before I wrote about Groundhog’s day I have to admit the topic is a little more intimidating and covers a lot more information.

Black History Month History

Black History Month is also known as African American History Month. Black History Month first started out as a week called Negro History Week. Negro History Week was first celebrated in 1926. It was specifically designed to coincide with President Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglass’s birthday. While the specific reason isn’t known any more, most people believe that this week was selected to reflect recognition and importance. Author of Journal of Negro History and Historian Carter G. Woodson, along with the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History were credited as creating Negro History Week. Carter G. Woodson was quoted as saying, “If a race has no history, 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 American Indian left no continuous record. He did not appreciate the value of tradition; and where is he today? The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself. In spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization.” Some records show that Negro History Week was later changed to Black History Month in 1970, while some show the official start as 1976 with the bicentennial celebration of the nation. Black History Month is now celebrated in the United States and several other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and the Republic of Ireland.

Importance of Black History

With Black History Month being around for decades, some believe that an entire month dedicated to Black History is unnecessary. We read Goodson’s reasoning above and I’m sure that everyone has their own reasons or beliefs. I believe it is still important because for the most part we still only focus on one side of the story. I often tell my children that people are rarely the villain in their own stories. This means more to me than the standard saying of there is two sides to every story. Let’s look at an example.  There are two neighbors; one has a beautiful pristine yard. He spends hours a week and hundreds of dollars a season to keep his yard perfect. He keeps it trim and weed free. He looks at his neighbor’s yard and see’s weeds everywhere and a generally unkempt yard. Luckily for him his city has an ordinance and he calls to make a complaint. The neighbor is issued a citation and he sighs in happiness knowing it will be taken care of shortly. However, to his horror his neighbor refuses to take care of his yard. The other neighbor takes his case to the city council. We find out that the neighbor with the unkempt yard spends hours a week and hundreds a season to keep his yard perfect. He has painstakingly selected native plants to the region; he refuses to use pesticides or herbicides so that native insects and animals can thrive in his yard. He manually pulls all invasive plants that aren’t native. He has a beautiful pristine yard. My point in this example, story, is that both neighbors work hard to keep their yards perfect. Each neighbor believes they are the hero in their own story but can be construed as the villain in the other’s story. Now, not every story has to have a villain but without having both sides of the story we can’t see the whole situation but just the presumptions of the one side. Most of American history is told from the white person’s perspective. Which isn’t specifically a bad thing, however, it means that history is being told from their perspective and most likely that story will be told from a point of view that lessens the negative aspects. If we are unable to see both sides of the story, we can miss important points of information that allow us to see more of the whole story. In the current world this leads to a lot of confusion. It can feel like people are trying to change our history. They are taking people that are believed to be heroes and showing the side of the story that shows they may have not been the great person they are perceived to be. Another example of this could be the Boston Tea Party. In American History classes, we are taught that the Boston Tea Party was the beginning of our independence. We stood up against oppression from the British for imposing taxation without representation. This is often seen as inspiration to rebels against injustice. This is how we are taught this history from the American History perspective. If you think about it, at least at the time, the British would see this as a very different event. From the British perspective this was an act of treason and could be punishable by death. These are important examples of why we need to learn history from different perspectives and why many people are confused by the supposed change in history. We saw this with the celebration of Columbus Day as well. Things to keep in mind, first, the people of history are just that. They are people. They are not saints, they are not deities. They are people, who have character flaws, that make rash decisions and judgements, people that behave in ways that do not put them too far outside their comfort zones. They are people who try to make the best decisions based on the information, normalcies and traditions of their time. They cannot see the future and see what light will be shined on them. I do not say this to excuse their behavior but to simply remind ourselves that we do not know what our future holds and what judgment we will receive for our actions taken at the time.

Discovering Black History

The other thing to keep in mind is that history is happening right now. When we celebrate Black History Month we are need to celebrate the black history that is happening right now. So how do we learn Black History? Technically we can read anything that claims to be black history; however we have to remember the lessons learned from the examples above. For another example, can a mentally healthy person tell us what it is like to live with depression? Technically yes, they can read and explain symptoms but will not know what that actually means. They can say that someone living with depression is tired, but may not know how difficult a seemingly easy task such as brushing your teeth can use all of your energy. We have to take into consideration the experience of the person retelling the history. That’s not to say that history can only be told directly from those who have experienced it. We just have to keep in mind that they have their own perspective and with that we should strive to review history and events from many different perspectives. So now that I have been evasive and made you question everything, are there in fact credible places that we can experience black history and history in the making? First, if possible, try to find first person experiences. Second, don’t dismiss something just because it makes you feel uncomfortable. Third, don’t dismiss something just because it has contradicted something else you have heard or hold to be true. And finally, try to read many different accounts of the same event.   

Supporting Black History (In the Making) Month

 We can support Black History Month in a very simple way, support black organizations. This sounds very easy and simple, and truthfully it is, however it gives us many different opportunities to personalize our experience. For example, if you are interested in history you can visit and support black history museums. If you are interested in culinary activities, visit black owned restaurants and/or learn to make your own authentic recipes. Once you have discovered your own interests make sure to share them with others. If you have social media accounts you follow suggest your friends follow them as well. Throw parties that highlight things that you have learned or discovered. If you’re interested, I have listed a couple of accounts that I have discovered and enjoy below. I obviously have a ways to go but I’d like to believe it’s a start.

                Instagram: @bigcitygardener @hereweread @silk_suds_shop @nandilfernandez @museumofblackart

                Websites: Blkgrn.com, reelpaper.com

                YouTube: BlueprintDIY,  Silk Suds Shop,

Do you have any ways that you recommend supporting Black History Month and Black History in the making? I would love to hear your suggestions.

As always, stay positive and much love

Additional Resources:

https://www.naacp.org/latest/28-ways-celebrate-black-history-month/

https://africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/about/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month

http://www.blackgirlswithgardens.com/5-black-owned-seed-companies-to-try/

https://reelpaper.com/blogs/reel-talk/sustainable-black-owned-businesses