Today is the final day of Black History Month.
Frankly, we’ve got mixed feelings about the observance. On the one hand, there really shouldn’t be a separate Black History Month. History is history and all of it, the good and the bad, should be observed and taught 365 days a year.
Yet, the truth of the matter is that Black history has been, and continues to be, given short shrift in classrooms across the nation. History, it is said, is written by the victors. But it’s also written by the dominant caste. Without the attention paid to Black History Month, youngsters (and many adults) might continue to think of Black history as little more than Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.
While they are indeed important U.S. historical figures, there’s so much more to the rich tapestry that needs to be told. One thing we love is the attention that Black History Month has paid to our local history, from T.C. Walker and The Gloucester Institute/Holly Knoll to the Rosenwald s...