OPINION !l
The Chronicle i
aebra^
617 N. Liberty Street ? yf/Tr.
336-722-8624 %<?U **
1 Wears ?
www.WSCHRONICLEjcom f
??ily v
Ernest H. Pitt Publisher/Co-Founder
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
Elaine Pitt Business Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Black History
Month ending,
but not work
in community
Black History Month 2015 will end in a few
days. All month media, organizations and businesses
have given tidbits about African-Americans and
their accomplishments.
Some people who have been honored are living
and some are dead. Some people are well known and
others are not as well known. Men and women make
the lists of accomplished African-Americans.
Special programs have been presented during
Black History Month. Some gave homage to
African-Americans from the past. Some offered dis
cussions about African-American life for the future.
Black History Month 2015 also is known for the
movie "Selma" and how it has galvanized African
Americans across the nation to make sure young
people see the movie to learn about some of their
history,
The Voting Rights Act Of 1965 will be 50 years
old in August. The movie, which explores the drama
surrounding events that led to the signing of the
Voting Rights Act, has made African-Americans
realize the important accomplishments of the people
behind the Civil Rights Movement. The movie also
has made them realize that the work in the 1960s
must be rekindled because some of the same goals of
the establishment to quash the African-American
vote back then have been rekindled today.
We know that Black History Month can't hold
most of the many accomplishments African
Americans have made over the centuries. They can't
be dwindled down to a month of recognition, really.
Those accomplishments should be recognized year
round.
To that end. The Chronicle will recognize people
in the Winston-Salem area in March during a
Community Service Awards Banquet. The awards
are intended to recognize individuals of any race in
the following categories: Man of the Year, Woman of
the Year, Community Service. Minority Business,
Lifetime Achievement, Human Relations and
Community Organizations.
Nominations for the awards are closed. The win
ners will be recognized at the banquet on March 21.
Work in the black community continues after
Black History Month, and The Chronicle is recog
nizing people who are working to make the commu
nity better.
ritKEwoM-srsijomvi... |
Almost 190 years ago, prominent free black men
met in New York City to discuss forming a vehicle to
communicate their views on issues that affect the
Black community. Up to that time. Black Americans
had been denied usual channels of public media.
They decided to publish Freedom's Journal, the
first newspaper produced by Black Americans. Rev.
Samuel Cornish &hd John B. Russwurm, who attend
ed the meeting, became the paper's editors.
While the editors of Freedom's Journal acknowl
edged that white citizens sometimes defended the
honor of Black Americans in public forums,, they
proclaimed in the first issue, "Too long have others
spoken for us ... We wish to plead our own cause."
The Chronicle is proud to be a part of that legacy.
/
"^^THECv4Qpwar?fcf5
uvemhcto
THE WW WE Do.
'he$~nI
WfBW
lFBPMus^y
VIWEME-UESIME
WTolWTPV.UESWED
OUPECo^ PROVIDED
HEB02ET>?ttUW5
QAVETWCUT^ToUmt
cuss f?,wmTp
i (VIA... I
Celebrate black history all
year, and include everyone
James
Ewers
Guest
Columnist
It has been so long that
I don't actually remember
when I started celebrating
black history. I do recall
that it started out as Black
History Week.
Upon quite reflection
and over time, I have come
to realize that black folks
created and invented a lot
of things.
For example,
Alexander Mills invented
the elevator and Albert R.
Robinson invented the
electric trolley. In addition,
John Love invented the
pencil sharpener and John
Burr invented the lawn
mower.
As I grew older, a week
of black history turned into
an entire month. I am sure
that Carter G. Woodson in
1926 didn't really think
about this turn of events.
Yet I suspect the contribu
tions were so enormous
that one week simply
would dot do.
There are some com
pelling questions to be
asked regarding Black
History Month as we know
it to be now. As we know,
there are those who are
calling for an end to Black
History Month. They
argue that there ought to be
a seamless transition from
black history to American
history. Proponents further
say that Black History
Month further separates
and segregates our society.
It is my thinking that as
long as many of the learn
ing tools and dispensers of
information give out little
or partial information then
Black History Month must
continue.
I agree that our history
should be interwoven into
American history, howev
er, at this point the rhetoric
and the practice of the rhet
oric don't match.
I have often mused
whether talking intention
ally about the contributions
of black people make some
people uncomfortable. I
am sensitive to this comfort
issue, however, sometimes
folks have to feel uneasy in
order to appreciate the
facts.
Will the information
tools tell us that Sarah
Boone invented the ironing
board, that Alice Parker
invented the heating fur
nace and that George T.
Samon invented the clothes
dryer? We probably have
to go to some extremes to
acquire this information.
The celebration of
Black History Month in the
new millennium has spe
cial significance, especially
for young students. If you
are my age or a little
younger, you are a product
of segregated schools. You
either went to an all-black
school or an all-white
school.
This wasn't a reflection
on us as much as it was the
times. Many of us lived in
places where our contact
with each other was quite
limited.
as a result, n may nave
been easier to celebrate the
accomplishments of black
folks because there wasn't
the peer pressure or the
resistance. And because
we had black teachers for
the most part, these pur
veyors of the information
affirmed our pride.
We now live obviously
in different places and dur
ing a different time in our
history. Students nowl
earn in integrated classes
and their classmates are of
different ethnicities. With
all of these groups together,
you have a real melting pot
of ideas and learning
styles. The question then
boils up "How do black
students feel about cele
brating Black History
Month"? Are they embar
rassed by it? Are they
afraid of being rejected?
And finally do they believe
there is any correlation
between their success and
the success of their ances
tors?
In a f#?\1/ nnhlir cpftinnc
Ui M IV" J/UVIIV JVlVlIlgJ
now recently, I have shared
a few analogies. For
instance, there could be no
Condoleeza Rice without
there first being a Shirley
Chisholm, the first African
American to run for presi
dent of the United States;
there could be no Barack
Obama without there first
being an Edward Brooke,
an African-American
Senator from
Massachusetts; and finally,
there could no Usher with
out there first being a
Sammy Davis, Jr.
The analogies are end
less, yet the point is that we
all stand on the mighty
shoulders of those who
came before us. They were
role models for us before
the term became chic and
fashionable. The proposi
tion has to be made to
young people that their
own success is inextricably
tied to the success of their
ancestors.
One of the things that I
have observed more with
young students is that they
mix well together. Seeing
black students and white
students together is not the
aberration that it once was.
So it would stand to reason
that white students would
also appreciate Black
History Month. It has
always been my view that
we can all learn things
from each other. I do hope
that black students/cele
brate with great prille^this
month the many achieve
ments that have been made
through the years.
February will be gone
before you know it. While
I think we still need to keep
February, we need to do
more throughout the year.
There are too many high
lights to keep them con
fined to one month. I
encourage parents, grand
parents and other love
providers to keep this spirit
of information-sharing
alive and well. Use the
library and the Internet as
wonderful sources for
information. We have an
opportunity to provide our
children with a platform
made up of respect, admi
ration and caring. We can
love and care about each
other everyday.
Lei our cnuaren.
friends and neighbors see
us as the torchbearers of
kindness, civility and good
will. February should be a
month of inclusion not
exclusion. We grow more
when we learn more.
Celebrate black history
because it is American his
tory.
Winston-Salem native
Dr. James B. Ewers is a
longtime eductaor.
Obama
Brooke
Rice
Chisholm
We Welcome Your Feedback
Submit letters and guest columns to let
ters @ wschronicle .com before 5 pm. Friday for
the next week's publication date.
Letters intended for publication should be
addressed "Letters to the Editor" and include
your name, address, phone number and email
address. Please keep letters to 350 words or
less.
If you are writing a guest column, please
include a photo of yourself, your name,
address, phone number and email address.
Please keep guest columns to 550 words or
less. Letters and columns can also be mailed or
dropped off at W-S Chronicle, 617 N. Liberty
St., W-S, NC, 27101; or sent via our website,
www.wschronicle .com.
We reserve the right
to edit any item submit- /
ted for clarity or brevity I
and determine when I
and whether material I
will be used.
We welcome your
comments at our website.
msu, go jo our tacebook
Sage to comment. We are at face- B
ook .com/WSChronicle.
Send us a tweet on Twitter.
We are at twitter.com/WSjChronicle.