In 1926, Carter G. Woodson began the celebration of Negro Achievement Week which was to be celebrated the second week in February to coincide with the birth dates of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The week-long celebration was eventually extended to the entire month. In 2010, we celebrate black history month many different ways. You may see many programs on campus, different organizations showing their formal recognition, large corporations showcasing to the world their interest in black history month, and provocative facebook statuses challenging the norm of black history month.
I encourage you to understand black history for yourself. Think about what it really means to your existence and your everyday life. If we would consciously understand black history we may be able to consciously understand many of the things in our everyday life. What about going to integrated schools, bathrooms, drinking fountains? Black History. What about suffrage, class action, equal opportunity? Black History. What about the stoplight, ice cream, air conditioning, cell phones? It's all black history. Black people do not get enough recognition for the many contributions to society and our well being. Remember it took black people who had the courage, initiative, and determination to do things they were told they could not do, achieve feats that were thought to be impossible, and show the world that they are capable, apt, and can achieve any plane of success. Here's to black history... our everyday life.
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