Musings

Are We Celebrating Black Heritage?

As we progress through the month of February, our nation celebrates the rich history of African-Americans, a large minority in our diverse nation. However, after witnessing the apathy and disrespect at the annual assemblies put on in my high school to showcase the Civil Rights Movement and its leaders, it has become clear to me that a month designated to celebrating an ethnic history is a waste of time and also unnecessary.

Most of this year's presentation constituted songs and hymns attributed to the Civil Rights Movement, clips from Dr. King's famous "I have a dream" speech, and other such biographical accounts of the numerous providential events during the movement. During that time many of my peers were dozing off or intently chattering with their companions, ignorantly disregarding everything the presentation had to offer. The degree of ignorance and disrespect has reached an all time high in our youth; the presentation may not have appealed to all viewers, yet it is common courtesy to have paid attention nevertheless, and respect the entertainers who have put in so much effort to convey the message of the Civil Rights Movement, a relatively recent life changing event in our history. Instead of teaching students the 'Three R's of Education', schools should perhaps be more concerned with instilling pupils with a respect for their freedom that they are taking for granted today.

The message underlying Black History Month has slowly begun to lose its significance and the image of our great civil rights leaders has either become inconsequential or else blurred since the Black History Month celebrations tend to be ignored in more ways than one by the youth of today. It is incredibly disrespectful and disturbing when an African-American student fails to acknowledge the suffering his ancestors endured to gain freedom, something that he takes for granted today. It is sad that someone like me, who is not even of African American descent, pays more respect than does a student of African descent, to the memory of the freedom fighters of the Civil Rights Movement by being quiet and respectful during the Black history month assemblies.

If Black History Month has lost its meaning, then why do we celebrate it? Personally I feel that setting aside a month to celebrate an ethnic diversity is slightly absurd; why should we celebrate the rich history of African-Americans only in February, coincidentally the shortest month of the year? The history of the Civil Rights Movement is so critical not only as black history, but in the history of America and of the world at large. It was the movement that completely altered the social fabric of this nation from the bottom up and sent the oppressed people of the world a strong message of hope and freedom. The extent of the impact of the Civil Rights Movement itself cannot be completely understood and appreciated in a single month, not to mention the impact of black history as a whole. Through assigning a Black History Month we are paying lip service to appreciating diversity, and essentially encouraging apathy and ignorance toward something as fundamental as our need and respect for freedom.

Black History Month has once again put our society's ignorance in the lime light. I wholly commend the performance of the troupe that performed the Black History Month presentation at my high school and apologize for the lack of respect they received from many in the audience. As for Black History Month, we should not delegate remembrance to specified months because events that are as definitive and life changing as the Civil Rights Movement cannot be fully grasped and totally honored in a month. As we move along through yet another Black History Month, we will notice the forced appreciation of the rich African-American History and the resulting apathy, ignorance, and disrespect perpetrated by those who cannot appreciate the freedom they enjoy let alone the strife to acquire it; not even during a duration of some sixty odd minutes of a Black History Month Assembly!

posted by thethoughtless @ 11:45 AM