Students discuss relevance of Black History Month

Brittney Williams
MC301 Contributor/Staff

Is Black History Month a genuine celebration of the advancement of African-Americans or an outdated tradition that has lost its meaning? This question is often asked by the current generation.

Black History Month, also known as National African-American History Month, began in 1926 as Negro History Week by historian Carter G. Woodson. By the 1960s, people around the country began recognizing the celebration.

President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976. Since then February has been designated as Black History Month. It is now known as an annual celebration of African -American achievements.

For years Black History Month has stood as the stepping stone for remembering black history and what contributions were made. No longer known as just slaves and their descendents, African-Americans are now represented in all facets of American culture.

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates said in a Newsweek article that black history deserves to be celebrated because it connects black people to the struggles and the progress that need to be made in the black community.

Jordan Sawyer, a sophomore speech pathology major from Morton, Miss. agrees.

“It is essential to know the paths of where people came from. My family use to own slaves, but eventually we ended up working with blacks,” said Sawyer.

Others believe that black history and American history are one in the same.

“(Black history month) is not going to be finished until we fully integrate it into the regular presentation of history,” Susan Maneck, an associate professor of history at Jackson State.

Maneck added: “That is always the danger with any kind of ethnic studies,” said Maneck “The challenge is that if you actually segregate it off, sometimes it prevents it from being integrated into the normal curriculum because they can say, ‘oh it is being dealt with there’”.

Some students believe that knowledge of black history strengthens the African-American community.

“For all of your life you should try to connect with where you come from. If you don’t know where you came from, you can’t really know where you are going,” said James Simpson a sophomore biology/pre- physical therapy major from Moreno Valley, Calif.  “You still have black people who don’t know anything about their culture and don’t have a desire to learn more about it.”

Antonia Jetts, a sophomore biology/pre-medicine major from Greenwood, Miss., believes the celebration deserves more than 28 days.

“If we did not celebrate it (black history month), it would not be discussed. To me it is a shame that it is only one month of the year that we get to acknowledge the accomplishments of African-American people.”