February is federally recognized as Black History Month. I would like to address a question I sometimes hear.
“How come there is no White History Month?”
The easy answer is because White History is taught every day. The history taught at the core of the school curriculum is White History. Most textbooks tell the history of the United States from a White perspective, with the key players being White people. To give an example, the “Founding Fathers” of the United States are all taught from early on, and are all white.
But there were also Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, and other people in U.S. history during those times, and they deserve a place in the narrative.
I value learning Black History as an effort to bring in parallel events and historical figures from America to create a bigger picture of our country as it grew up. We have events like Black History Month (February), Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), Hispanic History Month (September 15 to October 15), and Native American History Month (November) to remind us to keep learning more about our history from perspectives we don’t already hear and see every single day.
If you find yourself wondering about the necessity of a Black History Month, or feeling like a White History Month should be put in place, the process of embracing Black History Month may require you to suspend your lived experience, as well as your professional experience, to consider a different perspective. A perspective from people who are not White, and have not lived the privileges of White Culture. The various History and Heritage months provide opportunities to learn about the rich history of the United States.
A common rejection for the need for Black History Month is, “But we teach about slavery and Nat Turner’s Rebellion!” Only white people were allowed to be American citizens for a very long time and they wrote their history from their perspective. Consider: The Naturalization Act of 1790 stated that the path to citizenship was for white immigrants only; African Americans could not become citizens until 1868. But in many states they still had to fight for their right to vote for almost a century after that. Not all Native Americans were eligible for citizenship until 1924. Asian Americans were barred from applying for citizenship until 1954. All of this exclusion left history to be written by White people.
Telling a history primarily through the lens of European Colonialist and their descendants perpetuates an exclusive paradigm for what it means to be American. Being inclusive requires giving authority to Black-, Hispanic-, Native-, Asian-Americans, and other minority groups, to tell another part of U.S. History parallel to the de facto White History taught every day.
Black History Month invites us to open our reality to something we may not have lived or relate to, and learn a fuller history of our country. It brings forth a different perspective and asks to be acknowledged as just as American as what is already in place, to be part of “American” History. The on-going attempts by History Colorado to truly embrace an inclusive history is reported in the Denver Post, by reporter Ray Rinaldi, January 30, 2023. The article exemplifies leadership in inclusion when telling U.S. History.
I encourage all of you to think about and engage in conversation, regarding Black History Month. Can you articulate your beliefs? Can you have a conversation with somebody who doesn’t have the same views? Being inclusive means suspending your beliefs in an effort to allow for other beliefs to be heard, and allowing room for a diversity of perspectives.
If you are interested in engaging in conversation, or would like to work against racism, please feel free to contact Working for Racial Equality at workingforracialequality@gmail.com
Anna Ramirez
Pagosa Springs