Our Heritage: American History
About black history, addressing a national problem in our American history books and our perception of our history as a nation.
African-Americans like Benjamin Banneker made the first wooden clock in America which predicted a solar eclipse with astonishing accuracy. Dr. Daniel hale Williams was the first person to successfully operate on the human heart.
Example of political figures like Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Harold Washington, Barbara Jordan just to name a few. Civil Rights leaders like Fredrick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Benjamin Hooks and Dick Gregory.
Educators and scholars like W.E.B Boise, George Washington Carver and Kenneth Bancroft. Entertainers like Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Lena Horne, Sidney Poitier, Chuck Berry and many more; athletes like Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Hank Aaron, Althea Gibson, Muhammad Ali, Willie Mays and others; writer like James Baldwin, Alex Haley, Virginia Hamilton, Langston Hughes and Ralph Elision.
Organizations that have influenced American history include the Black panther party, Black Muslims and Urban league to name a few. Other historical events include Black codes, Jim Crow laws, Dred Scott decision, Freedman’s bureau and the Reconstruction.
As you can see, this is quite a bit of information that only scratches the surface of black history. It is truly impossible to learn this history in one month. Because when you read about the achievements African-Americans have made, you must at the same time read about the social, political, artistic and economic struggles of America that made these achievements possible. Therefore, I do not believe we should have Black history month.
The history of African-Americans should be inculcated into every American history book. It is pertinent information all Americans need to know. You can’t get the real story of America without knowing the past of “all” the groups of people that brought forth its existence. Without knowing and understanding the past, you can’t know and understand the present.
Unfortunately, because so much history has been excluded from the history books, the average American does not know their history as a nation. This is a shame, because this nation has come so far and yet, it has so much farther to go. We as a nation need to come to accept that we are Americans no matter what our hertiage is. We have a common history whether it has been a descendant of a slave or slave master, freedom rider or white citizen council member. This ethnic separation of American history must change in order for us to move forward as a nation. As president Obama stated election night: ” it’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, Black, White Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red states and Blue states: we are, and always will be, the United States of America”.
Liked it
