Does America Still Need Black History Month?

Black History Month was started in February 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, but was known then as Negro History Week.  It was not until 1976 that the transition was made from Negro Week to Black History Month which is still celebrated in the month of February.

Does America still need Black History Month?

America has seen a two-term president with brown skin, there are black CEOs and heads of corporations, black people can sit anywhere on public transportation and in establishments where "White only" and "Colored only" signs were once visibly hung.  There are no longer miscegenation laws prohibiting the mixing of races and everyone from different cultures are our neighbors.

It would seem that the societal restrictions prior to and during the Civil Rights Movement are no longer an obstacle for black people.  Although many black people feel as if we have 'arrived', there have been many events within the justice system which have shown that the barriers of inequality are still at play and in the words of Kanye West, "racism still alive they just be concealing it".

Some people fail to realize, however, that black history is American history.  The American financial and industrial infrastructures were built on the whipped backs of African slaves.  America still needs Black History Month, but our educational institutions need to move away from only teaching black history during the month of February.

In my opinion, the intentions for Black History Month were never to segregate the races, but to showcase the accomplishments and sacrifices of black people.  Black people have always fought for a place in the American landscape so to call for the abolishment of Black History Month would be asking for an entire component of American history to vanish as if it never existed. 

Plus think about this, if the government feels that we, black people no longer need to celebrate Black History Month what else could they feel is not necessary for us to do?  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 comes to my mind.

Thanks for reading!
(John 3:16)

Edited by: Craig Bennett