Black History Month? Is it separation or just realistic? (page 2)

DocHayes

November is Native American Heritage Month

September, if I'm not mistaken is Hispanic Heritage Month

Well, if American schools actually TAUGHT black histroy in history classes, that would be one thing. But as it is, it get hardly a mention. Black history has EVERYTHING to do with how our country is what it is today. Yet, the average white student in American doesn't see how it affects them and their world. Very sad.

I guess one month is better than nothing, but that is about it. Black histroy should be in every chapter of every American history book. It IS American history! If it were in the books like it should be, we wouldn't need a month.

I was watching "Trading Spouses" the other night and this upperclass, well-off, adult white woman was drivng around in Harlem and asked, "Who was Malcolm X anyway?"

If we want less separation between the races in this country, we need MUCH BETTER education.

Panda

Obviously this "trading spouses" woman was no fan of Denzel Washington otherwise she would know (from multiple screenings) who Malcolm X was and why he is still an important American figure.

DocHayes

Sometimes I wish they would do away with BHM, namely because I'm tired of hearing, "why don't they have a White History Month?" I start thinking... well pretty much every month is WHM.

I think a lot of it has to do with self-determination. My father is African-American, and my mother is Indian (Native American, American Indian, or whatever you want to call it). The elementary and middle schools I went through were about 40% Indian (give or take each year), and they would pull the Indian kids aside for a few hours a week for "culture class", sponsored by the state commission of Indian Affairs. There we learned about Indians, and our own tribal history. I will admit that was pretty good, because all the other kids learned how to spell Cherokee, and that was the extent of their education.

My high school was 98% African-American, so for four years I learned how to deal with the otherside of the family tree. I learned a lot of things that I don't think kids at other high schools would have learned. For that I'm thankful. Sometimes I don't think that particular education should be force-fed to everybody, I think tolerance should be taught more so than anything else.

Then again we should all be focused on our "spiritual heritage". LOL

MsMcDucket

Growing up in Florida, you're around all kinds of different ethnicities of blacks- haitian, jamacain, trinidarian- the list goes on forever. And I always had to expierience first-hand the racisim that black americans have against blacks who are not from this country. They think there better than us, they make fun of our accents, joke about us coming over here on a boat. What a shame! So i detest Black history month all the same.

That is not a fair statement. I know of many blacks from overseas that feel that the blacks here in America are lazy. They think that they are lazy because the men don't won't to take jobs as dishwashers, janitors, maids, cooks, what have ya. They will tell us that we're doing something against their culture (like stepping over food, I never did find out what that meant). I'm like what the heck are you talking about? They don't know about black history and the civil rights movement, and the hell that people went through so that they could come over here "on a boat". We still have problems with getting black refugees in the country. Black American's notice this stuff! I think that you're being too sensitive.

My brother in law had a statement that he loved to make. Which goes: "If you talk all the time, YOU MUST know everything". Might as well put some knowledge behind your statement. Read up on what's causing the color barrier among blacks in America.

stillAwitness

MsMcDucket,

They know nothing about black history and the civil rights movement?? Screw black history because it all centers around is black american history.

My high school textbooks were filled with black movers and shakers like Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Rosa Parks. But what about Marcus Garvey,from Kingston Jamaica who started the entire civil rights movement from the very beggining!? Before all these other people were even born Marcus was fighting for our rights. Jean-Claude?! Who led an army against the English when they attempted to turn Haiti into a slave country?? Nobody here's about them.

And DUH! Black immigrants do take the jobs that the americans won't. My mother came to this country at 19 years old who barely could speak a word of english and cleaned public restrooms while she worked her way towards a college degree. But you got middle aged black folks up in the Job Fairs fighting for $6/ hour cashier jobs that I should be getting. I'm the full time college student! You had your chance! What were you doing for the past ten years?! And I'm always the youngest person there. I'm sorry but thats just embaressing.

I hate to be critical but hey-spending your money on the latest spinners for your Toyota Camry and Baby Phat tank tops aint gonna mean nothing in the next 10 years. That's what I always remember.

under74

okay, okay...let's not get all testy here and generalize and put people into groups that's not what the thread is about.

StillAwitness- I understand what you're saying. It's true many people don't know Francois-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture or Marcus Garvey were. But most people don't know who W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Delany, Medgar Evers, Eldridge Cleaver, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, Phillis Wheatley, Robert L. Hill, George Washington Bush, Asa Philip Randolph, Oscar De Priest, Oscar Micheaux, P.B.S. Pinchback, Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, Marvel Cooke, Frederick Douglass, Arthur Mitchell, Oscar Dunn, Crispus Attucks, Angela Davis, Benjamin Banneker,Charles Chesnutt, Vivien Thomas, Ralph Bunche, Peter Spencer, Nat Turner, Sgt. William H. Carney, Robert Rillieux...and many more...see what I'm saying stillAw?? These are all african americans listed and it's a very short list. Don't say screw black American history....since that's exactly what this thread is about.

Like I said before, I'd like it if African American history was just the same as the rest of american history but looking at my nephew's history book I see it's not...and as lisaBObeesa pointed out, so maybe there's a need for black history month...although as Mrs. Jones and Chris Rock observed, it is the shortest month in the year...odd. And not just that--my younger nephew was excited the other day (after his last day of school before the holiday break) because his teacher said that when they got back they were going to start preparing for a school presentation about black history. He's part african american but he doesn't have his heritage brought up but once a year. It's just kind of depressing to me that this happens.

rebel8

Society seems to go to extremes on the race issue and there is little middle ground. Sad.

When I was in Social Work school, my class was largely comprised of white/very rich/very nieve girls who chose their major for 3 reasons: 1) because it is not academically challenging--an easy degree 2) it was an excuse to come upstate and get away from mom/dad 3) so they could assuage their guilt of being a privileged person. I am not making assumptions here; this is what they said.

The school was ridiculous. Every day, every class, for the entire class, our idiot Dean insisted the professor talk about only one topic. The professors would say, "Well the syllabus says we're supposed to talk about _____ today but instead we will discuss how to handle diversity in the workplace." I am not kidding--every single class, every single day. I complained and was told I better get my values prioritized or I should quit school!!!!

The school's definition of "diversity" was idiotic too. They would say, "Oh Suzie is doing an internship in a veeeerryyy diverse environment at ----," except in the facility the population was composed of 99% African American and 1% white. That is not diverse at all! I got into trouble when I said that in class.

We still have problems with getting black refugees in the country.

IMO part of the disparity btwn Haitian and Cuban immigration policies is due to racism. http://www.ndu.edu/library/docs/crs/crs_rs21349_21jan05.pdf

I know of many blacks from overseas that feel that the blacks here in America are lazy.

Me too. That conflict goes goth ways.

I had some fun with one of my ignorant employees once. (She is African American FWIW and I am not.) She was asking me to physically describe a person in another department. I said she's tall, has long braided dark hair, glasses--purposely not mentioning an overt racial category. The ignoramus met the person and came back to me asking why I didn't "just say she's African American so I would have known who she was--I thought she was white".

Me: "She's not African American."

Ignoramus: "Yes she is!" (repeat several times)

Me: "She's from Trinidad. That's not Africa."

Ignoramus: "Yes it is."

Me: "Please go home and check your atlas."

Ignoramus: "Yes but she's still supposed to be called African American. That just means black."

Me: (sigh)

under74

again rebel8....this isn't about whether or not you call someone by their skin color. I think it's more of a history/documentation/education issue rather than skin tone and what you call another person you're describing--as far as this thread goes.

mrsjones5

"Yes but she's still supposed to be called African American. That just means black."

lol, dense wasnt she? I'd rather be called "Black" instead of African-American. I have African-American friends, people who just came from Africa or who's parents did. I know my ancestry includes people from Africa but that's not all there is to me. I feel "African-American" is too limiting - for me anyway.

Josie

Black History Month? Is it separation or just realistic?

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