April 12, 2002
Why I still hate Black History Month
Jacob Blom
STAFF WRITER
Black History Month is not a
joke. I was mistaken to state the
opposite. But, Black History
Month should not exist. Its spirit
merely should.
The founders of Black History
Month intended to increase edu
cation about black history. The
best way to accomplish this is to
educate society year-round.
I assure you that if black his
tory were not to be studied year
round, then I would prefer to have
Black History Month than noth
ing at all. But, integrating black
history into history texts would be
ideal.
Those who wrote letters in
response to my initial article
would contend that black history
is celebrated all year. I believe this
is only true for an elite group.
Traveling to museums and festi
vals to learn about black history
is not possible for too many indi
viduals.
This can be attributed to the
scarcity of places to honor it
across the country (one would be
hard-pressed to find a black his
tory museum in the Midwest).
THE
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Black History Month does not at
tract more interest because, by
virtue of its name, it feels exclu
sive.
As a public school student in
Baltimore City, I went to the
Blacks in Wax Museum. This was
a grand experience. Unfortu
nately, my school took the trip
once a year, in February.
Education about black his
tory should not be hindered by the
month of February. Valentine's Day
celebrates love, but it breeds an
environment in which people believe
it is unnecessary to show apprecia
tion to their love on any other day.
I don't doubt that racism ex
ists. I am not naive.
But I believe that the best way
to quell racism is to teach about
black history. People are afraid of
what they do not understand.
Learning black history's awe-inspir
ing stories and lessons throughout
the year might allow for white people
to not feel excluded from black his
tory, and allow blacks to not feel ex
cluded from society.
I agree that Black History
Month was not covered sufficiently
in The Guilfordian. But I feel the
making of a newsletter for black stu
dents makes matters worse. The
The Guilfordian
writers in this newsletter would be
very welcome to help The Guilfordian
cover issues pertaining to Guilford's
black community. The newsletter,
I am afraid, segregates the com
munity further by saying that ar
ticles are somehow only relevant to
one race or the other.
They remain separate.
"He should not speak from
outside his experience," Miss
Weintraub said in her letter to the
editor. It makes proceeding difficult
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when the black community com
plains that there is a lack of cover
age, but protests that I should not
talk about black issues because I
am white.
Yes, I am white. But I have ex
perienced Black History Month, so
it is within my experience. I believe,
as a white person, that it would be
beneficial to all races to learn more
about black history throughout the
year instead of solely during the
month of February- ,
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