It’s the first second of February! There is a chill in the air! Candy hearts are on sale! PBS is showing In Performance at the White House: A Musical Celebration of the Civil Rights Movement! So, throw on a black turtleneck, dust off your DVD set of Eyes on the Prize and let’s get this twenty-eight day party started!
But before we get to the celebrating, a little reflection. Ideally, black history wouldn’t need a special month. Ideally, the history of black people, of all non-white people, would be so interwoven within the narratives of American history that we wouldn’t need to single out months to remind people of the non-European-centric experience.
I dream of the day where juniors in every high school in the United States are taught an American history that discusses the founding and what the true ramifications of codifying slavery. That recognizes the benefits of Westward Expansion came at the expense of millions of Native Americans lives. That recognizes the immigration prejudice and discrimination Asian immigrants were forced to endure for a hundred years before Japanese Internment was even a gleam in Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt’s eye. That discusses the Civil Rights Movement in terms of centuries, not years.
The theme of this Black History Month 2012 is “Black Women in American History and Culture.” I’ll mostly be sticking to the theme but I’ll be more than happy to deviate if things pop up in the news or if an interesting tidbit, involving the gentlemen, is brought to light. I’ll be checking the tips page often. Airport rules apply, if you see something, say something!
But to kick it off on this wintery, Thursday, let’s talk about our favorite through-the-looking-glass moments in history.
The story doesn’t have to be about black people. It doesn’t even have to be American. Any story, of any group, that is often overlooked in the re-telling of a major piece of history. Bonus snaps for stories about minorities within a minority.
For example the work of the late, great James Baldwin:
What’s your favorite through-the-looking-glass piece of history?
