SVDTOKJAL
Our Story Forever
By Star Spencer
Staff Writer
Black History month is a
time of self-recognition;
it is a time of remember
ing; it is a time of honor
ing. We look in the past to find
those who gave birth to us and to
our freedom and in turn we even
tually find ourselves. Thousands
of names, faces, and events tell
the story of black people all over
the world. Yet we want to cele
brate these epic events in the
shortest month of the year.
Travel back in time to
Ancient Africa where prominent
black kings ruled over their cities
of gold and their nations of forti
tude. Each had its own language,
its own laws and great pride in its
traditions. When the first slaves
arrived in Jamestown in 1619, a
brand new volume in that long
history began, one that has
affected our lives to this very day,
this very hour; this very minute.
Can you possibly glorify those
truths of our existence in just
one month?
Try to remember in 1849
when Harriet Tubman escaped to
the North from her Maryland
plantation to later guide over 300
slaves to freedom through the
infamous Underground Railroad.
What about Frederick Douglass,
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B.
Dubois? Remember Emmet Till
from Chicago, who was murdered
for whistling at a white woman?
Did you forget the 54th Regiment
of Massachusetts who were the
first blacks to fight in battle for
the US armed forces? How can
anyone honor and see in retro
spect these feats of courage
and genius in a matter of
twenty-nine days?
In the early fifties Rosa
Parks was named the Mother of
the Civil Rights Movement and
after her came many sons and
daughters. They were those who
fought in the struggle so that we
few blacks at UNC might one day
be able to attend this university;
their blood is on our fingertips.
Think back to Stokely
Carmicheal, Medgar Evers,
Angela Davis, the Black Panthers,
the assassinations of Martin
Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X,
and many nameless faces who
died in captivity for you, for us.
Their bones lay in the ground
beneath your feet.
Now we read the works of
historic black writers, we snap
our fingers to the music of black
original talent and the world cap
italizes off the creations of black
inventors. To condense their sto
ries, their hopes, their dreams, I
their tears, and their centuries of a
sacrifice into a month is like c
writing a biography of 29 pages. k
And didn’t it take Alex Haley
fourteen years to write a book on i
the history of his family alone? n
Black History Month k
should be Black History Year,
Black History Decade, and Black
History Forever. Every day
should be a reminder of those
generations who did what you are 2
afraid to do. Those recycled •
dreams are your dreams; those 1
recycled tears are your tears. The 9
other eleven months should not *
be a time where we must wait in 9
ignorance until our time arrives; 6
our time is now, as it has been
for centuries and should be for
ever. We must celebrate and
remember like the timeless
people of greatness that we
are—all year ‘round.
A Celebration of Values and Traditions
By Titia Shelton
Staff Writer
Many of us can’t answer
this simple question,
“ Who invented the
stoplight?”
Black History Month is a
necessary celebration to teach
and remind us of African-
American unsung heroes. It is an
affirmation of our culture, a cele
bration of values and traditions,
and a time for us to reexamine
who we are through cultural fes
tivals, plays, movies, roundtables
and other activities. This is the
time when African-Americans
experience an overwhelming
sense of self-pride and love
because the accomplishments of
our people are finally being
acknowledged and celebrated.
There are some who say,
“Why do we still need a Black
History Month celebration?”
They say we have come such a
long way, that there are more
rights and more freedoms for
African-Americans than ever
before , and we are now "included
in the American Dream.” These
same people get frustrated and
say that we want equality, yet we
are still isolating ourselves by
engaging in separatist activities
and forums. Black History
Month, they claim is the biggest
separation of them all.
African Americans devel
oped these forums because for
many years we were never
allowed to participate in white
events and be included in white
media. Black History Month
wouldn’t be needed if we were
truly a part of the American
dream. Black History Month is a
mandatory celebration until
African-Americans are truly
incorporated into history and
acquire the piece of American
apple pie to which we’re entitled.
In 1996 the majority of
textbooks still only discuss
African-Americans in one chapter
— that same tired chapter about
slavery. Everyone knows that
blacks didn’t just appear on the
face of the earth when slavery
began. Where is our history
before slavery? Where are the
stories about the great Egyptian
kings and queens, and stories of
the great scientists who invented
the air conditioning unit, refrig
erator and blood bank? Until
African-Americans are incorpo
rated into every chapter of the
history books from the beginning
of civilization to the present day,
we need to celebrate Black
History Month.
Some say make it
Multicultural Month or
Minorities Month so that others
can be included, but everyone
benefits from knowing the truth:
that America would not be the
“great place” that it is now with
out the backbreaking labor, inge
nious inventions, and intellectual
and moral contributions of the
Black race. If we didn’t have
Black History Month, other races
might think our only contribu
tions and achievements were tak
ing care of the masters’ children,
frying up some finger-lickin’
chicken, plowing the fields, and
let us not forget rapping, danc
ing, and playing basketball. Not
only do other people need Black
History Month to learn about the
contributions of African-
Americans, but our own sisters
and brothers need this month as
a reminder of our heritage.
When we start getting lazy
and give up in school we need
this month as a reminder of Mary
MCleod Bethune, who fought
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