Welcome, welcome once again to Black History Month, this time coming with one day extra!
Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and the United Kingdom in October.
Why do Black People need a history month?
In an ideal world, the month would not be necessary, because educational establishments and the national curriculum would fully recognise and appreciate the contribution of black people throughout history. Sadly that is not the case.
The Black community uses this history month as an opportunity to share with the world its vast contributions: a time to demonstrate pride in its creativity, respect for its intellectual prowess and a celebration of its cultural identity which is far too often misrepresented, when it is not being ignored, in the mainstream.
So where can I learn more about Black History?
Well to start, I suggest visiting these three sites:
http://blackhistory.com/
http://www.blackpast.org/
http://racialinjustice.eji.org/timeline/
But I don't see color! We're all just humans!
You're not helping. At all.
People love to tell me that they often forget that I’m black. They say this with a sort of “a-ha!” look on their faces, as if their dawning ability to see my blackness was a gift to us both.
When I point out that their eyesight had never left them, that my skin has never changed colors, and that they probably did not really forget that I am black, they inevitably get defensive. First, they try to argue that it was a compliment; the smart ones quickly realize that complimenting someone on not being black is actually pretty racist, so they switch gears.
I don’t see race! is usually their next tactic, followed by I am colorblind, though they never give credit to Stephen Colbert. By “colorblind” they don’t actually mean that they can’t see green or red; rather, they are suggesting that they can’t ever be racist, because they don’t register skin color at all.
This ideology is very popular – like a racial utopic version of the Golden Rule – but it’s actually quite racist. “Colorblindness” doesn’t acknowledge the very real ways in which racism has existed and continues to exist, both in individuals and systemically. By professing not to see race, you’re just ignoring racism, not solving it.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/26/do-not-see-race-ignoring-racism-not-helping
TL;DR. You're acting like a child who thinks that no one can see them when they cover their own eyes.
But what about _____ History?
http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/tp/Celebrating-Cultural-Heritage-Months.htm
http://freethoughtblogs.com/crommunist/2013/02/03/why-isnt-there-a-white-history-month/
Happy Black History Month everybody!
try not to get banned.
Courtesy of Brother Jackben, a Black History Month playlist.
RECOMMENDED WATCHING:
- Roots
- Selma
- Rosewood
- Fruitvale Station
- Malcolm X
- Amistad
- 12 Years a Slave
- Glory
- Beloved
- The Color Purple
- The Great Debaters
- The Tuskegee Airmen
- Do the Right Thing
- Menace II Society
- Get On The Bus
- Bamboozled
- Dear White People
- Mississippi Burning
Once again, welcome to Black History Month! Oh, and sorry Stacey. We ain't cancelling it.
NeoGAF celebrates Black History Month 2016:
- The history behind The destruction of Black Wall Street (1921 bombings)
- The white guy in the iconic 1968 photo of two black USA Olympians w/ raised fists
- Black History Month: The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Black History Month: The forgotten Black Heroes of Latin America
- Black History Month: Mob Violence, Riots and Pogroms against Black Communities
- Black History Month: Marlin Briscoe
- Black History Month: The destruction of Seneca Village
- We have a black person to thank for the widespread use of Vanilla today
- Black History Month: Shirley Chisholm The First Black Woman To Run For President
- Black History Month: Who mourns for Jimmie Lee Jackson?
- The role of male African slaves in the Ottoman Empire
- Black History Month: Notable Black Women Throughout History
- Black History Month: 1985 - Philadelphia drops bomb on black neighborhood, 11 dead
- How does ethnicity influence game design?
- Black History Month: Remembering Yesteryear with American carnivals
- BHM: Attrocities against black people in the name of "science and medicine"[Graphic]
- Black History Month - Post Traumatic Slave syndrome by Dr Joy deGruy Leary
Also from last year: