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| Celebrating Harriet Tubman |
When I was a young man growing up through the evolution of this historical time of the year, it was a major bone of contention that blacks were not getting the proper historical treatment that they deserved. Black history month was an acceptance and an admission of the failed representation of America's full history. It was the opportunity to include what the history books had left out.
The history books told part of the story, but they did not paint black people in the most positive light. During the lifetime of Martin Luther King, he himself was treated like a rebel of America and had more negative pockets of opinion towards him than positive. Today, republicans and democrats are arguing over which party gets to claim the great leader.
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| Dr. Justina Ford attended the birth of my mother and many others in Denver.Census records for 1910, 1920, and 1930, show that she was Denver’s only female doctor. |
Today, little white kids get to put on black history month reenactments dressed as whatever historical black figure has been chosen for the new year. Today, the history books have been revised to at least mention blacks, and Google search does the rest. Black people and black history is fully within the mainstream of America.
By the time we finish marching in January for MLK, and watching special programs on television to honor blacks in February, I find myself happy for blacks but totally oblivious to the reason we fought so hard. Not that blacks have arrived to the promise land we sought to attain, but our history has. Knowing our history will certainly direct our future.
In the minds of blacks like me who fought to bring this month to higher importance in America, black history month is dying. But that's a good thing.
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