Essay on Black History Month PDF

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Essay on Black History Month...

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The Black History Month The black history month is a yearly celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing or identifying the central role of black Americans in the history of the United States. Since 1976, the month of February has been a dedication for the black history month. The month gives Americans an opportunity to celebrate the innumerable contributions that black people have made to the United States and to learn more about the history and heritage of the communities in the United States of America and other nations. The day has been set aside and every year celebrations are carried on to recognizes and cherishes these marvelous contributions of the Africans. The event of the black history month is believed to have originated from the Negros. In 1976, the black history month was officially recognized by the then President Gerald R. Ford by making it a national special day in the calendar of events. Some of the countries around the world including Canada and the United Kingdom have marked and put aside the month of February for celebrating black history and their great self-drive and motivated contributions in making America a respectful nation of all races around the world. The paper explains the origin, history and the symbolic meaning of the black history month. The black history month has a long history. Its roots can be traced back in the year 1915 after the thirteenth amendment that was done to the American Constitution which abolished slavery in the United States of America. On September, the father of the black history and the father of the black history month as well known by many, Carter G Woodson and a prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland and three others founded an association which was dedicated to researching and promoting achievements of the black Americans and other Africans. Carter was the only and first black child whose parents were slaves to earn a Ph.D. in history from the University of Harvard in the year 1912 by then. They called the organization like the Association

for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). The group chooses the second week of February to celebrate these achievements of the black Americans and other blacks around the globe. The second week chosen coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas who are believed to be at the front in fighting for the freedom of the blacks. The act encouraged and motivated many communities and schools to start and organize, local celebrations, establish history clubs and hold performance and lectures. Every year a new theme is endorsed in the United states of America to enhance and promote the celebrations in remembering and recognizing the African-American contribution to the nation and the outside other countries in the world. For example, in the year 2013, the new theme was, “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality.” During this month, the Americans understand the preeminence of black liberation especially from exploitation due to their color. For instance, those people wishing never to be caught in a fellowship of blacks are understood to the better in this case. The fact about white supremacy with racism being the issue at hand is also recalled. Racism is termed as political power structure of formal or informal rule, a privilege and norm for differential distribution of material wealth, opportunities benefits and burdens rights and duties. The situation was normally for the chosen few- the whites- indicating the concept of white supremacy. The supremacy is governed by the fact that history had with itself that the whites had internalized their values and attitudes which were not meant for the black Americans. The supremacy is believed to be all pervasive in both ideology and behavior; it was based on discrimination, exploitation, and oppression. The government or the lead institution was believed to have been founded on the popular consent of individuals taken as equals, but rather it was just for people who are real people “we the white people”. On the other hand, the white supremacy was to maintain racial hierarchies which were

termed as not involving force or coercion. The issue of racism would befall onto Black Americans, and they would exercise their white supremacist control over other black people or use it to exercise power over one other. There are changing perspectives on black identity with the blacks choosing their identities. However, an issue like people taking allying themselves with the dominant racist white group would mean the exercise of white supremacy would prevail. The black month would mean that remembrance of critical issues such as many changes in social policy and social attitude which were seen to end racial domination but rather were for serving and strengthening the white supremacy. Black people in history were rewarded for assimilating activities in social contexts of white people. They did by adapting the acts or norms of white people by the black individuals. However, some assimilation in blacks was at risk. For instance, being fired from a job or being denied job promotion would be the result of those who were not fully assimilated. For blacks resisting the pressure to assimilate was part of their struggle to end white supremacy. These blacks were supposed to challenge, resisting protest while ensuring that they left no gaps which would give room for discrimination. An issue of the term white supremacy would spark a reaction of criticism or hostility backgrounds. It was a rare case to hear people arguing During the black history month, issues of “racial contract” are recalled. The “contracts” depicts a conceptual difference between two areas mainly separated from each other. Each region has the concern on its own different issues. The white concern is on ethics of the political philosophy which was preoccupied with the discussion of justice and rights in the abstract. The Native Americans or the blacks focus on issues such as Afrocentric, colonialism, cultural ethnicity, national identity racial slavery and reparations apartheid. The division was evident. However, Native Americans bear so much in their concern thus being remembered during the black history month. However, as Native Americans are

remembered, children are no longer educated about them in their respective institutions of learning. The historical framework of teaching these young ones of who were their forefathers or ancestors is no longer in place. Those being educated of the history are being fed with a distorted version of the United States story. They did this intentionally to uphold the white supremacy and show that the whites are superior as opposed to the blacks who are inferior. Issues such as Columbus discovered America had been abandoned. Other facts that have been abandoned in the education of the young in America involve Africans came before the Columbus, genocides, white colonization and betrayal of the blacks or the Native Americans. The term assimilation was used to revolt against the whites in the 1960’s and 1970’s where there was a rebellion against racism and white supremacy. Concepts such as politicization of education, critical consciousness and blacks confronting their extents of complicity were initiated by the blacks for self-recovery and collective renewal of their capabilities. Black as beautiful was the term used to undermine the idea that had developed into a central aspect of the white mythology of black as ugly, evil and demonic. Assimilation of black to become “honorary white” for them to succeed in job acquiring the means to provide oneself and ones' family materially[ CITATION Joh16 \l 1033 ]. Struggle for Black Americans economics, over resistance to white supremacy and racism was presented in a manner that suggests blacks’ pride. Considering the suffering, they went through where most of their fields were taken which caused a massive migration of the people to other towns. During these time most of them were employed to work in the sisal field to cater for themselves and their families....