Celebrating American Diversity: Black History Month, and the still-present societal gaps that it represents
Front Page February 16, 2018, Comments OffFebruary, while being a month of groundhogs and valentines, holds a much more significant meaning to citizens across the country. To African Americans, February represents the month when they can express their cultural and historical roots, while students are taught about important African American leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Frederick Douglas, and Malcom X.
In a quote by former President Gerald Ford, Black History Month is an opportunity “…to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
The Mirror hopes to encourage further discussion on Drury’s campus about black history, influential African American leaders, popular culture and ways that our society still struggles to work towards equality.
The History
Dr. Richard Schur teaches African American Literature at Drury University. Schur explains the origins of the month and its importance to our society.
“Black History Month was started in the 1920s by a man named Carter Woodson,” said Schur. “Originally he argued that we needed a week to understand the contributions of African Americans to American culture. He chose the second week of February, the same week as Abraham Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglas’s birthday.”
Black History Month can trace its roots to the Harlem Renaissance, when African American artists and intellectuals began to have more influence on American culture. Many believed that if they could progress in the arts and sciences that it could help to lift other African Americans across the country.
According to Schur, the movement remained fairly small over the next few decades, though it gained a lot of traction during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s with the Black Power movement. It went from involving a single week to the entire month of February. Finally in 1976, President Ford formally recognized February as Black History Month.
Besides representing African American culture, the month also stands as a testament to the still prevalent social inequality in America. On average African Americans have less wealth, lower life expectancies, higher unemployment and are more likely to be imprisoned.
Dr. David Goldberg, CORE 201 “Race and Empire” teacher, believes that Black History Months serves as a time to acknowledge the histories of black people but also to remind us of the inequalities that exist in our current time.
“The purpose of the month is not only to add black stories to the national historical conversation, but also to recognize the complicated story of race in American history,” said Goldberg. “For too long, African Americans were not only denied basic rights, but denied the right to exist as people, which erased the construction of their history.”
Schur elaborated on the struggle for equality in the United States.
“Equality isn’t a state of society that it gets and then is just over. If you look historically, society has really struggled with issues of different kinds of equality,” said Schur. “It can be socioeconomic of gender or LGBT or race, and I think that Black History Month is a nice way to focus in on this.”
Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the fight for equality and to look at the accomplishments of African Americans.
“And we also know that if we don’t set aside a month for it that many institutions would ignore it, and this is also why we have Women’s History Month, and Latino Week. I think that it’s just about raising awareness and the level of visibility,” said Schur.
Pop Icons and New Media
While acknowledging African American history is important, so is marking success as it happens. Here are some important mile markers in art that African Americans have made in 2017/18:
Bruno Mars won record of the year for “24K Magic.” Jay-Z brought us “4:44” and Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN” was well received in 2017. Weezer’s “The Black Album” is coming soon. Despite the outcome of the Grammys, a wide audience has been receptive to the music and innovations coming from classic and emerging black artists.
Lena Waithe is the first female African American to win an Emmy for comedy writing. She and Aziz Ansari co-wrote the “Thanksgiving” episode for the hit Netflix original “Master of None”.
Many popular TV shows with black leads such as “Scandal,” “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Black-ish” are returning in 2018. HBO has announced its intention to turn “Brown Girls,” a new web show following the lives of queer friends, into a series.
Creator of “Brown Girls” Fatimah Asghar describes their series as “Lena Dunham’s Girls for the rest of us.”
“When I talk about feminism, sometimes I feel like being a black woman is cast aside,” said Asghar, according to The Atlantic.
In addition to strides made in TV, this year has also been a great year for films starring African Americans. Riding off the success of last year’s “Moonlight”, “Hidden Figures” tops critical success by becoming the highest-grossing best picture Oscar contender the domestic box office.
Other successful movie releases include “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” starring Oprah Winfrey, “Get Out,” “All Eyez on Me” and “Burning Sands.”
And today, Marvel’s highly anticipated “Black Panther” will be released on Feb. 16. Many are excited to experience a Marvel movie that features strong African American characters.
In addition, this is the first year of Oscar history that a black person has been nominated for each acting category. It looks like #OscarsSoWhite will continue to remain in 2016 as we continue to celebrate diversity in our media.
Changes in DC
In addition to media, shifts are happening on a political level. Even under a Trump administration, there has been a rise in female leadership and minority representation, at least on a local level.
From the 2017 election, some African American powerhouse leaders were elected, including, Kamala Harris Senator-elect, Calif. Mayoral-elect Michael Tubbs, and Minnesota Representative-elect Ilhan Omar.
In addition, a new museum was erected next to the Washington Monument. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC is, according to their website, “a museum that seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience.” Opened in 2016, it was sold out for months after its opening and continues to be one of the most popular Smithsonian Museums.
Resurgence of Civil Rights
Black Lives Matter as an organization and an ideology has grown and continues to gain recognition as individuals and groups fight for civil liberties. Never in our lifetime has there been such widely publicized discussion about the future of rights and representation for African Americans.
“I think that it’s unfortunate, but we never really achieved the focus of the Civil Rights movement,” said Schur. “In education we still see huge gaps, and in some ways our school system is more segregated than it was in the 1960s. We also see that African Americans are much more likely to be imprisoned.”
Goldberg continued by saying that there is still progress to be made.
“There are still huge strides to make in terms of housing and environmental equality,” said Goldberg. “Activists in the 1960s often said that there was ‘no right more elemental,’ than equal housing, and they were right. Access to affordable housing affects employment, public health, education, utilities, and so much more.”
Literature gives people insight into the lives of others, and Schur believes that it is a powerful tool in teaching empathy to both students and faculty. Schur provides suggestions for pieces he believes that every Drury student should read.
“I think ‘Between the World and Me’, by Ta-Nehisi Coates is an essential novel for a person to read,” said Schur. “Coates was the person who helped bring back the ‘Black Panther’ comics in 2016, which he wrote. Almost any novel by Toni Morrison is great. I think Colson Whiteheads ‘The Intuitionist’ and ‘Sag Harbor’ are two really good novels, and Danzy Senna’s ‘Caucasia’ is a really powerful book.”
Schur believes that taking time to consider African American history can inform the ways we view current conflicts.
“And I would go back and read the speeches of Malcom X and Martin Luther King, because people think that they know what King and Malcom X said, but I don’t think that they really do. Go back and read the nonfiction of James Baldwin, and if you’re a little ambitious read ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison,” said Schur.
These are important times to have conversations like these, regardless of your race. Get involved in the conversation. Start that reading list provided by Schur, read up about current and historical African American issues and culture, and listen to your friends and the people around you as they open up to you about their personal histories and cultures.
There are so many ways to facilitate that conversation, but one is by getting involved with Drury’s Black United Independent Collegiate (BUIC). This organization is committed to raising awareness of issues involving students of color, and empowering students of color to establish themselves within Drury’s campus environment. For more information, contact President Abigail at aakinyemi@drury.edu.
We at The Mirror want to know what you’re thinking about this Black History Month. Tweet us at @drurymirror all of your favorite African American leaders, a helpful book or resource, or just start a conversation with us about ways that Drury culture can better reflect the needs of minority students.
Article by Mady McColm and Ryan Smith
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