Black History Month: Why Is It Needed? Extraordinary Black Contributors

Elsie said:
Why is it so amazing the things BLACK people have accomplished?" Why shouldn't they have? Music, inventions, medicines, etc.?? They're people with the same talents, intelligence, etc. born with as much as any other race of people. As a young adult I once had a dream of myself and 2 black men being chased at night by white men through some woods to hang us. I felt strong horrible fear. I woke up before they caught us. I think the dream came from some black and white T V show. ... I had no idea why black people were frowned upon (hated-?)
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That we have accomplished things, in of itself is no more amazing than any other fantastic accomplishment. What is amazing is that our accomplishments have mostly been hidden, not in the history books and classrooms and many claimed by Whites. I once read a comment about Black History Month where the poster said Blacks had done nothing for this country. I've read and was told of several accounts of Black people being deemed much less intelligent than White people. I did a report a few decades ago for college (I attended as an adult) about teachers, some in the NYC school system who were crushing Black students' dreams about college by telling them that they didn't have what it takes. And I have a good friend who's teacher told her when she was about 10 years old that "Black people have no history". So your question "Why shouldn't they have?" is a great one. I wish many more people had your attitude about it.
 
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images

Happy Black History Month
We can't all be black but
we can all be kind, can't we?​
 

The question is.....should children just be taught the history of the country they are living in? The population of America consists of people from all over the world. Can schools be expected to teach the history of each of their original countries? African slaves were a major part of America's history and that should be included in their lessons. However, African history is a separate subject.
 
Lavinia said:
The question is.....should children just be taught the history of the country they are living in? The population of America consists of people from all over the world. Can schools be expected to teach the history of each of their original countries? African slaves were a major part of America's history and that should be included in their lessons. However, African history is a separate subject.
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Schools get tasked with teaching a lot of different subjects. History is one of them. I recall being in school and mainly learning about things American because that's where I lived. we touched upon African history as well as South American, Australian, Asian and European history as well. But we also learned about math, science, health, physical education, etc.

In my hometown there was a special Africentric High School built that probably taught more about Africa and African history than the other schools there but it wasn't built until long after I attended high school. The issue of slavery in America was covered pretty extensively as I recall but I don't remember hearing much about some European countries like Lichtenstein and Latvia, even though I'm sure that those places too must have made some contribution to the world at large.

My original post was just intended as a general "happy thought". I'm of European descent, meaning not black but in the spirit of goodwill, I tried to be among the first to acknowledge that today begins Black History Month. I hope we wont all stay in the dark about black or African history.
 
Surely Black History is the same as the history of
the country that you live, nothing is separate in
life except by bigots.

My history applies to all the black, brown and
Chinese, who have chosen this place as their
home, there is no difference.

Pointing out the achievements of black people
individually, is a different matter and that is the
life history of that person, there are many great
achievements by lots of black people all over the
World, that may be the aim of effort, to point
these out.

Mike.
 
For me Black History is needed number one because it is important history and these people are important to it. They also overcame so much throughout their lives to achieve so much and they still are even today. Not only the really prominent Blacks in history such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, Thurgood Marshall and others, but also others that lead in their particular fields like Sammy Davis Jr, Tiger Woods, Arthur Ashe, and also Barack Obama.
 
Lavinia said:
The question is.....should children just be taught the history of the country they are living in? The population of America consists of people from all over the world. Can schools be expected to teach the history of each of their original countries? African slaves were a major part of America's history and that should be included in their lessons. However, African history is a separate subject.
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When I was in high school we had two classes about world history (one in autumn, the other in spring). But all year long we studied European history, only. Not a word was spoken about the Third World. I well remember how much time we spent talking about Napoleon and his campaign. I did particularly well in class so that one of my classmate (he was rather tall and I'm rather short) called me "Napoloeon" just for fun - I thought it was funny and actually liked the name.

When I was in college we were taught that Greece was the cradle of Western civilization. That was a blatant lie as Egypt was its actual beginning. If you read Herodotus's encyclopedic "The Histories" of Greece you will see that 10% or roughly 70 pages of this 700 page book was devoted to the African origin of Greek civilization.

There is plenty of historical evidence to prove that African mariners were in the New World by the 1300s - long before Columbus was born. In his writings Columbus admitted that he found blacks descended of Africans in the Islands he traveled through. Those truths have been taken out of your history books.

https://www.amazon.com/They-Came-Before-Columbus-Civilizations/dp/0812968174


Now it's time to put those truths back into children's school books.
 
I may be somewhat out of place in this thread and if anyone here feels that I overstepped my bounds please say so and I will delete my post with my sincerest apologies but I have to speak my mind "What little I have" about ethnic history if you will. My mom was Jewish and my dad was Haitian so in Brooklyn I was considered a two time loser, the worst of both worlds. In Crown Heights I was called a Swartza and in Bed-Stuy I was called a c**nK**e. My roots were taught to me by my mom and dad so did I feel that the national curriculum standard include Jewish history? Haitian history? Since I was, is now and until my last breath I consider myself as an American, not Haitian America or Jewish American. why? Because no matter my race, ethnicity, culture, religious affiliation I was born and raised in America. I strongly believe my loyalty should be to that country from which I was born and still reside in which is America. That's my personal choice. Every Census or other application I always check other. Even though that question is for various statistical purposes the choices offered don't include just American and that's what I consider myself. Not Black, Black American, African American, African, Haitian, West Indian, White, Jewish, Russian, German, Armenian, Hispanic, Spanish, Latino, Cuban, Italian, Greek, Latin American, Cuban, Asian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Biracial, Multicultural so how many history classes should be included in our schools history curriculum? I am for World history and the history of the country you are in, if you thirst for the history of where you were born other then where you are presently a citizen you should self study. School curriculums can't accommodate everyone. That's the way I see it leastways. Thanks for reading and enjoy your day.
 
Don M. said:
The way I see it, the more that "race" is emphasized, the more likely that divisiveness will continue.
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I can see your point, however for many years the role of African American people in American history was not well represented. Some making up for that seems to me to be in order.

Hopefully the day will come when there is no more need to call out African American history in the US than there is to call out Irish or Italian American history. That should be the goal.
 
Don M. said:
The way I see it, the more that "race" is emphasized, the more likely that divisiveness will continue.
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In my opinion you're on the right track, but the divisiveness is less about emphasis on race than emphasis on "culture."
When people are encouraged/pressured to 'practice their own cultures,' what the heck is left of America and Americans?!?

Other than later grades when the schools I attended added Economics, Sociology, etc., the Social Studies classes I had throughout school focused on History- state history, American history, world history. The rare mentions of 'cultures' were brief overviews of countries we'd probably never have the chance to visit.

I believe if people live in America, they should be Americans first. People should be proud of their heritage, ancestors, etc., but other than a specific tradition or similar, shouldn't live as if they're still in "the old country."
And when it comes to what's called Black culture or African-American culture, I wonder if anyone- especially young people- realize it has nothing to do with Africa.
 
@oldiebutgoody
Well, I don't understand that. I was schooled in Brooklyn and spent some of my undergrad years at City College, in the late sixties when we did fun stuff like take over South Campus. Do you remember that beautiful mural of the Vietnamese woman crying painted outside a building on South Lawn, or was it gone by the time you were there? I must be a few years older than you & I graduated HS a year early. SP, remember that?
 
There was some black history taught in the classes when I was a kid and I still recall some of it. I learned much more black history in college as we had to take mandatory black history classes. I chose the time after the civil war.

I cried a lot reading about what it was (is) like to be black. Believe it or not I could somewhat relate it to what it has been like to be an abused woman in every way possible. I understand it's not exactly the same though.
 
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Pepper said:
@oldiebutgoody
Well, I don't understand that. I was schooled in Brooklyn and spent some of my undergrad years at City College, in the late sixties when we did fun stuff like take over South Campus. Do you remember that beautiful mural of the Vietnamese woman crying painted outside a building on South Lawn, or was it gone by the time you were there? I must be a few years older than you & I graduated HS a year early. SP, remember that?
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I think I recall something about "Yossarian is alive and well and living in Sweden" or something like that. But all that has become a blur to me, sad to say.

The one thing that does stand out is old Lewisohn stadium:

Lewisohn Stadium - Wikipedia


Great architectural marvel - Tearing it down was a crime against humanity.
 
@oldiebutgoody
My mother started a scrapbook of me & my best friend plotting together in front of the Stadium on the day the Meyer Kahane Never Again group tried (and failed) to take back North Campus from us. The old NY Daily News & Post used to have centerfolds of pics and for awhile I was in there several times! Mother was so proud. I still have the pics but I can't find them. Every once in a while I come across them, and lose them all over again!

eta
sorry to go off topic, but these reminiscences are great fun for me
 
Hank Aaron. From the ***** League in Indiana at 18 to breaking Babe Ruth's hits record in 1975 to upper level MBA management as senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves, vice president of community relations as well as board of directors for Turner Broadcasting.

Overview of his philanthropy through the years.

The day it all started: Eighteen year old Aaron left Mobile, AL in 1952 to start his pro career in Indiana.


271162717_473957537433518_6978220314797745941_n.jpg


With wife, Billye, at his 1982 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame:

Hof%20Weekend%201982%20Aaron%201673.83%20NBL.jpg
 
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Pepper said:
@oldiebutgoody
My mother started a scrapbook of me & my best friend plotting together in front of the Stadium on the day the Meyer Kahane Never Again group tried (and failed) to take back North Campus from us. The old NY Daily News & Post used to have centerfolds of pics and for awhile I was in there several times! Mother was so proud. I still have the pics but I can't find them. Every once in a while I come across them, and lose them all over again!

eta
sorry to go off topic, but these reminiscences are great fun for me
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I well remember that terrorist #########. He spent years espousing hate and murder. In the end, he got back exactly what he tried to impose on others. May he rot in Hell for all the trouble he caused.

Good of you to fight against his evil ways. Black history month is one way of affirming that patriotism and brotherhood/brethrenship is the true path to peace and reconciliation for all.
 

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