Black History Month: Why Bother?

Today marks the beginning of Black History Month.  There are, of course, those who wonder why we need to have a month dedicated to Black history.  After all, such folks will argue, isn't the goal to see all history as important, regardless of the race of those whose stories are being told?  Which, of course, is true.  But I view Black History Month as an early precursor of Black Lives Matter. Yes, all history matters, but until certain parts of our history are told, it is only reasonable to emphasize those people and stories have been underreported, underrepresented, and sometimes not represented at all.

The proposal for holding Black History Month came out of Kent State University in 1969, and was first observed the following year.  It was first observed nationally in 1976.  Then President Gerald Ford explained the need for it when he said, "In celebrating Black History Month we can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Our history.  Until we tell the stories of Black Americans, Native Americans, women in general, and other persons who have often been neglected or forgotten, it is not really our history, even as we can't really say All Lives Matter until we recognize those lives that have often been ignored or worse yet devalued.  Until Black History matters, history itself is incomplete and therefore inaccurate.  We will never have a complete picture of our past, no more than we can have a perfect union as a nation.  But we can work towards a more perfect, a more complete, history, even as we must strive for a more perfect union.