Racism of Black History

I don't think that myself and others like me, those whose family line ends when they reach the days of slavery and can no longer trace their African roots, should be considered African-American,; I prefer black. We should be simply American; the African part was lost long ago, but I love my BLACK heritage and my BLACK culture because it's all I know.

No matter how far I trace my family back, I won't find the African part of me; it exists only in my skin color. True African-Americans can ask their parents and grandparents why their great-great grandmother came to the United States. Grouping us together is just as offensive as forcing all Spanish speaking people under the umbrella Hispanic when their backgrounds vary greatly. Black history and African history, only intersect at the time of the slave trade. Black history only covers the period from American Slavery to the present, African history goes back much further.

By no means am I going to down the accomplishments of great black men, or devalue the importance of the Civil Rights Movement or the Harlem Renaissance. I am not a great enough individual to do that, and even if I were, I wouldn't because I am a big fan of it all, but Black History Month is a sorry attempt by a guilty majority to make better the wrongs of the past. However, instead of making things better, the very fact that black history must have a special month to be acknowledged, makes it blatantly obvious that racism is still running rampant in the United States. It implies that that majority of black history isn't important enough to be recognized during the rest of the year.

Black History Month emphasizes some great accomplishments by some great black people, but in attempts to seem “unracist,” people highlight some less than spectacular moments in history, moments that would have been insignificant in the broader spectrum of American history. History shouldn't be openly segregated. It's all American history; why can't it all be called such.? And if the government insists on having a Black History Month, why not have a Hispanic History Month, a Native-American History Month, African History Month, Asian History Month, or Arabian History Month? It's only fair, especially since blacks aren't the largest minority anymore.

Black History Month is also tainted by the very black leaders that celebrate the month so vigorously. In speeches and programs, black political and social leaders are very selective in what history they promote. They always seem to “forget” to mention the positive influence hip-hop has had on black culture. It gave the black youth of our generation an identity and a music to call our own, but yet it is often left out of the Black History Month celebration by everyone except music television stations like BET and MTV. Even then, major leaders in the black community are not present. If the month is biased away from our contemporary culture, it serves no purpose. How can we look back and see how far we have come as a people if a critical part of our culture is so often omitted?

I think that as long as concepts such as Black History Month exist, and there is no barrier between black people and African-Americans, our nation will not be able to advance beyond racial and generational tensions. Separating blacks from African-Americans may take a little longer, but the first step is to surrender the month of February to Valentine's Day.