Understanding Black History Month

'T Was mercy brought me from my pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That there's a God--that there's a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. Some view our sable race with scornful eye-- 'Their color is a diabolic dye.' Remember, Christians, Negroes black as Cain May be refined, and join the angelic train. --Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley





Black History Month is not just about celebrating famous Black-Americans. This is a month, set aside, to educate Blacks about their own history. I've heard some non-Blacks ask, "why must there be a Black History Month?" The answer is quite simple, because conventional history texts have historically omitted Black facts.

When growing up, the only references made about Blacks in our high school history books, were about Blacks rioting in the streets during the civil rights movement and giving no explanation as to what the movement was truly about.

There were pictures littered through history texts of, Blacks living in tenements with broken-out windows, bald yards and ripped up couches on the balconies. Or not so charming shots of Blacks living in one room shanties with an out house in the back. Finally, someone had the fore-thought to say enough is enough, "this is not the whole truth of Black history" or being black.

Not many high school history text,[to my recollection] mentioned the educated and well rounded Black-Americans. Nor did they mention that some, who were slaves were geniuses, like Phillis Wheatley -- poet and writer. Others were either born free or freed like, Benjamin Banneker -- a self-taught intellectual or Edward Alexander Bouchet -- physicist, chemist, just to name a few.


Black youths need to know that there were people of their race who found that books and education were a positive aspect of life and not something that poisoned them.

Phillis Wheatley [my favorite historical figure] was captured from the Senegal-Gambia region of Africa when seven years old. When brought to America, she was sold to the Wheatley's. Within sixteen months, after arriving in America, Phillis had learned how to read and write English. She didn't stop there, she also, studied Latin and Greek and became the first Black-American poet. Read More

Benjamin Banneker, taught himself astronomy and was able to accurately predict a solar eclipse in 1789. Read More

Edward Alexander Bouchet was the first Black-American to graduate from Yale (1874).

Benjamin Bradley developed a steam engine for a warship in the 1840s.

David Crosthwait, Jr. held numerous patents relating to heat transfer, ventilation and air conditioning.

The literary world's pages are full of accomplished Black-Americans, not missing a dotted "i" or a crossed "t" to name a few [in no particular alphabetical or chronological order]: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, the list goes on.

Not only does America's Black youth need to understand and embrace Black accomplishments but, the rest of the country does too. The only way is to learn of and learn from Black history. This is why we have Black History Month. Black accomplishments aren't just on the basketball court or the football field or in the recording studio. The world is and can be the Black-American's canvass and our brains are the palettes that create beauty and contributes to mankind's betterment.

Do You Know?

Who invented the traffic light? Yes the one you stop at or run through on the street. Did you say Garret Morgan?

Who invented an important part of the light bulb? Did you say Lewis Latimer [he created the carbon filament]

Who invented an oil dripping cup for trains? Did you say Elijah McCoy? [Other inventors tried to copy McCoy's oil-dripping cup. But none of the other cups worked as well as his, so customers started asking for "the real McCoy." That's where the expression comes from.]

Who invented the ironing board? Did you say Sarah Boone? Read More: list of Black inventors

African-American or Black-American which term is logical?

With Presidential election 2008 looming on the horizon, history has already been made. Barak Obama is the first Black-American, yes, I said Black-American, to have made it to the primaries.

I'd even dare say, that he's the first Black-American to win South Carolina's Democratic primary. South Carolina! The very state where slave ships docked and unloaded their human cargo. Those 'ol slave runners and slave owners, buried on South Carolina soil, must be turning over in their graves questioning the worms.

But, I digress, I'm not going to write about the 2008 elections or whether or not America is ready for a Black-American as President -- Read more... [for the record, no I don't think America is ready, we haven't matured enough].



I am going to write about which term is more logical, African-American or Black-American.

There are many treatise written on where the term African-American comes from. Back in the late seventeen hundreds the term African-American was used to denote the more elite Blacks. During the great war Northern Blacks were called Black Yankees. Suffice it to say, you can go back a long way and find the different ways the terms were used.

In the seventeen hundreds the term or label African-American was closer to the truth than it is now. The people of the late seventeen and early eighteen hundreds, who were captured from the west coast of the continent without cold, and brought to America were indeed African-Americans.

Now, those of us who's ancestors have been here since then, can't logically be called African-American.

Why do I say that?

Let's look at my family history. I'm a Black-American. I've been fortunate enough to trace my history back to the late seventeen hundreds. Not all of my family history is pure African. I [we] suspect our ancestors came from Gambia. We know they were brought to South Carolina and sold.

When my slave owning ancestor died, his white children had a huge fight over his will. They fought about who would get the slaves, one being my great, great-grandmother who was his daughter by a slave. Her son was my maternal great-grandfather. We actually have a copy of that will.

Next, I [we] know that my other maternal great, great, Grandmother was Cherokee and walked the trail of tears when she was nine years old. Her daughter married the grandson of my slave owning ancestor and the progenitorship goes on from there.

Terms, terms, terms, in the human condition the word is a synonym for label. Humanity seems to be predisposed to labeling something or someone. Black-American, African-American, the sun is yellow, no, the sun is orange... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!

In the late eighties Jesse Jackson, other Black people of distinction, the press, columnists, and commentators, made the phrase African-American popular with hopes of unifying, maybe even centralizing, people of Black African descent and bringing into fruition, humanity's favorite past-time of labeling everything we lay eyes on.

My contention is: using the term African-American, for those of us who have genealogical lines going back to the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, isn't logical.

When one says that they are African-American, it means that they have come to America from, Kenya, Somalia, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, etc... and have become American citizens. These people are Africans. They don't have any other ethnicity running through their veins.

When one is a Black-American, it means that they were born in America. Their Black ancestors were brought to here three centuries ago. In this case, this means that very, very few have pure African blood running through their veins. So, how are they African-American?

John McWhorter said it best and so eloquently, (Los Angeles Times --September 8, 2004) "It's time we descendants of slaves brought to the United States let go of the term "African-American" and go back to calling ourselves Black -- with a capital B." Read More...

YES, the slave trade was and still is the most hideous of human practices. But, for Black-Americans to try and become something we're not which, is African, is a denial of our own humanity.

I by no means, mean for anyone to forget the past. Learn from it, progress to higher standards. But, don't wallow in it. Wallowing is just an excuse to stagnate.

I, for one, will not call myself an African-American out of respect and honor to my Cherokee heritage. No, it's not that I don't have respect for my African roots and the hardships that my African ancestors endured.

To call myself African-American, negates my Indigenous ancestors; their blood runs thick under layers of American soil. The time "when they cried" still echoes on the winds...listen and you'll hear them.



**someone please, have the guts, the gumption...to mark other**


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