So here we are at the end of February again and we have a paid homage to the upstanding (and sometimes, not so upstanding) members of the Black diaspora. And now what? On collge campuses (which is my immediate frame of reference) we will quickly move onto Woman's History month where we will expound the achievements of the women who shaped this country. And then what? Asian Heritage month for most people. And then Memorial Day hits and the great eraser known to us in the Northeast as SUMMER will come along and no-one pays attention to any of the lessons learned in the previous months: there will be racial tensions and women will struggle to be treated as equals. Then in mid-September, Latino Heritage month rolls around and we start the cycle all over again.
Why are we still locked into these constructs of knowledge and celebrations of the people that contributed to making this country great? Carter G. Woodson's wish was that there would someday no longer be a need for what was then Negro History Week. The opposite has actually happened. The week became a month and soon everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we should not remember the many diverse facets of our history. My point is, isn't it time that the youth of our nation be taught a COMPLETE history to begin with on a constant basis, not just in bunches depending on the month of the year? Why haven't we made more strides in having a more inclusive curriculum for our education system instead of having to augment an admittedly deficient set of knowledge. This seems stupid to me.
But what do I know? I'm just an immigrant here and I probably don't get it. Oh wait...we're mostly all immigrants to some degree in this country, aren't we? Maybe I DO know what I'm talking about.
These are my thoughts....what are yours?
2 comments:
I don't see it as a bad thing. Why do we have Italian restaurants or Sushi places. Not to separate but to CELEBRATE... I hope. Sometimes a buffet is nice but sometimes I just want Italian today and that's it!!!
My two cents.
Hmmmmm Nekkid man ... i agree with you
almost unequivocally .. as a teacher and a father i watched my kid come home with random facts about various members of our communities past, which in and of itself is applaudable, but that information is random and without the proper characterization or placement of the knowledge. it seemed to be without rhyme or reason, but simply for the sake of having done it. I think back to my school career(as a student) and realized that for the majority of elementary, middle and high school i learned pretty much the same information...
i say all this to say ... while we "educate" our young public about the "history" of african americans in this country... it tends to be more miseducation that seeks to further confound and perplex our youth, other than a few choice people and situations they are for the most part ignorant of themselves and their history in this country and the world at large....
Wisdom1911
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