It's February -- Do you know where your black history is?
◊ Editorials for La Voz, as with any newspaper, aren't credited to specific writers because they are supposed to speak for the entire editorial board. I've only written a couple of them and never felt the need to claim one as mine.
Right up until this one, that is. I'm pretty proud of it, so I'm posting the whole damn thing here. We knew the topic was going to be Black History Month, and I wanted to write it myself to make sure we wouldn't end up with an insipid "Black History Month -- Yay! African-Americans are wonderful and we totally respect them even though we're afraid to say the word "black" around them!" type of thing.
It�s February. Do you know where your black history is?
We know there�s more to Black History Month than clips on MTV of people dancing while a Missy Elliot song plays in the background. And we know there�s more to black history than the trivia we�ve been fed since elementary school. While we�re all impressed with George Washington Carver -- the man was to peanuts what the Professor on �Gilligan�s Island� was to coconuts, figuring out how to make everything from paper to printer�s ink out of them -- black history and culture don�t stop there.
Unfortunately, much of America does.
Every February, giant corporations fall all over themselves to prove to the American public that they recognize February as Black History Month. It�s a chance for them to display their sensitive side to the American public � not to mention a chance to hawk books, posters, TV specials and VHS copies of documentaries about famous black people while they increase brand awareness and make themselves look like they really, truly care.
Newspapers drop factoids like �Did you know the stoplight was invented by an African-American?� and mention the omnipresent Carter, ignoring or glossing over important events like the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement and the Million Man March.
Teachers from grade school up try to follow the theme and shoehorn the poetry of Maya Angelou and speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. into their curricula, ignoring them the rest of the year.
Once the calendar flips forward, this flare of interest in black history drops right off as the nation launches itself into March�s theme, Women�s History Month, with the same temporary zeal.
Every month we do the same dance to a different melody.
People cram as many sound bites and easy-to-remember facts into one month as they can, trying to get the public to notice that it�s Black History Month. They hype awareness, not understanding. This �Look at this! Black people have done lots of stuff!� attitude treats black history as a novelty instead of a living part of American culture.
Granted, it�s difficult to jam hundreds of years of history into just four weeks. Maybe we shouldn�t have to. It�s trite to say every month should be Black History Month, Women�s History Month, Asian Pacific Islander Month, Native American Month and every other awareness-raising month on the list.
We shouldn�t have to force ourselves to notice overlooked contributors to our history. In a perfect world, we wouldn�t need to dedicate months to the underdogs.
But we�re far from perfect.
Sometimes we need to have someone jog our memory and get our interest.
Black History Month is a jumping-off point. Instead of trying to learn everything there is to know about black history in a single month, treat February as a kind of greatest hits collection. If something or someone in this month�s flurry of trivia catches your eye, look it up and learn about it. You�ll find out a lot more on your own than you would in some �Did you know?� bulleted list in a magazine.
Don�t read Langston Hughes because he was a black poet and this is Black History Month; read him because his poetry makes you laugh or tears at your heart. Read up on events like the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. because you�re curious, not to memorize dates and names and places. Listen to Richard Pryor or Chris Rock because they make you laugh and make you think. Don�t stop with Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong; listen to Marvin Gaye and Prince and Public Enemy. Check out black artists that are making music right now.
Why? Because knowledge is its own reward.
Or, in the immortal words of George Clinton: �Free your mind and your ass will follow.�