why is there a black history month?

Question

All Black History Month does is remind people of the bad time of slavery... Shouldent we just try to forget about what happend and try to move on?

- There is NO white person that lives today that was a Slave Master.

- There is NO black person that lives today that was a slave.

- When we Get into Black History Month, It reminds black people of what happend and could sometimes get them more racist towards white people.

- When we get into Black History Month White People start to bitc-h that they dont have their own month.

Does anyone aggree? shouldent we just move on?

(and im not one of those white people who bitc-h about how bad black people treat white people I'm mexican)

Answer 1

No race should receive special recognition at any time of any month. Humans should study what has happened in history regardless of what culture contributed it. History is supposed to be unpolitical, unbiased, factual representation. Instead in our schools we have socially inept teachers picking and choosing what to teach our kids. It's bollocks.

Answer 2

To answer your question...NO, we should not move on. We cannot move on because a lot of these issue are still pressing today. Even if they werent, this should be looked at as a honorable time for black people, a reminder of how far we have come. Kinda like a funeral, even though it makes everyone sad, it celebrates the life of someone who is now gone (the past). Me as a blakc woman, I look at blakc history month as MY month. I could care less what white people think about them not having their own month. Februaury is a month for everyone, but what I choose to celebrate about this month it from MY heart. If we forget about this important month, our children's children will not understand their hardships. They wont understand their beautiful skin color and why their hair is so kinky. They wont understand how lucky they are to work and go to school where they want, or to marry whoever they want. Our lives a black people should be celebrated, not put on a petistal by the rest of society, or even given special privelages, but our heritage should never be forgotten because all of the reasons you have named are far less important than the reasons why we should keep this alive. We dont forget about Christmas, and Christ is no longer physically here on earth. We dont forget about all the dead presidents we celebrate and the banks all close. None of us were pilgrams but we all get full and rush to take off work for Thanksgiving, and I dont see that holiday getting erased. Honor your heritage, no matter what it may be, without it...things may be a little different.

Answer 3

You obviously have no idea what Black History does for black people....

It's ok to move on, but not to forget. If you don't know your history you are doomed to repeat it. And as a black person, I don't want my history forgotten. Like it or not, slavery is a part of AMERICAN history. It's not about whether or not you own slaves or if your family owned slaves....it's not about YOU!

The history you are so eager to forget is the family history of millions of black people.

Do you want your family history forgotten and tossed aside?

And the fact that you view slavery so negatively just shows how little you know about it. Slavery wasn't just about downtrodden black people. There were black people who fought and accomplished things during a time when they were considered property and less than animals. DESPITE these conditions, black people educated themselves, owned land, started businesses, there were towns of black folk that thrived during this time; there were blacks that fought against white slave traders and used strategies that had whites running in circles......there is so much you obviously don't know because it isn't taught.

You have no idea the inspiration and achievement that comes from that period of life and our young black children need to learn this. Black people should not be ashamed of slavery and white people shouldn't be afraid to talk about it. It's not about "guilting" white people about slavery or justifying black anger, it's about examining, understanding and learning about a volatile time in our nation's history .

Black have a right to feel pride and share that history. Black History month should be a reminder to all nationalities to celebrate their culture and the struggles which provided them the opportunities they enjoy today!

This is what Black History month is about.

Answer 4

Rather than having an entire month dedicated to the remembrance of slavery (which is how you describe Black History Month), I think it would make more sense to have a month dedicated to the study of African Culture and History.

The history of the continent of Africa is far from being all gloomy. Certainly the fact that "white men" came and took Africans away from their continent casts a dark shadow over our own histories (I'm European), but I don't think it necessarily has to be regarded as a bad time in African history.

Rather than dedicate an entire month to culpabilising white people or aggravating ill-feeling in black people, I think we would be better off including more options in history courses to write about and discuss the notions of slavery and most importantly dedicate more than just a month to helping Africans in regions such as Darfur, Somalia and elsewhere on the African continenent. This way black people would have an oppurtunity to learn something about their roots outside the West and white people would be able to overcome this misplaced guilt and do something to help others whilst learning about another culture.

Answer 5

Well not all of black history was bad, what about all the stuff that had been invented we have to celebrate all the contributions that have been done that have progressed our race,

Furthermore,, white people do have white history month, they actually have the rest of the year to celebrate, so why cant we have ours, and further more, there is breat cancer month, and all other types of months...

when the chinese celebrate the new year on april 1st, why doesnt white people ****** and ask why they cant start their new year on january 1st like everyone else?

you guys are too obsessed with back people.. I LOVE IT!

Answer 6

Well the white people who complain about not having their own month miss the point. Every month is white history month. That's why we need a black history month.

The point of black history month is that in our society we still focus mostly on white people's contributions to society. Our schools teach history by focusing on European explorers, settlers, and statesmen. I can remember that in school we only learned about two black historical figures: Amos Fortune and Martin Luther King Jr.

Only two black historical figures out of a 12 year education???

So black history month is meant as a celebration of all the positive things that black people have contributed to society.

As for reminding people of slavery, well one like I said that's not the point of the month, but two how can you Not expect inequality to come up? Many of the black historical figures had to fight against so much prejudice to do what they did. So it's obviously going to come up. Think about it... Today's children have grandparents who were growing up during the time of the civil rights movement. If that's not a fight against inequality I don't know what is.

Moving on? I don't think that's possible yet. Not when there's still so much inequality. Forgetting? Well even after we move on we shouldn't forget. We learn history so that we can make sure whe don't Repeat history.

Answer 7

The purpose of significant history months is to remind people where we've been, so we can be careful not to go there again. Remember the saying, "Those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it".

I'm white, and grew up in one of the whitest of states, and have never heard of white people "bitching" that we don't have our own month.

And you'd be surprised how close slavery has been to people's lives - some people grew up as children of slaves, and they most certainly are alive today.

Answer 8

i find it insulting, why do we only get a friggin month out of the whole year, if we had really moved on and were seen as equals there would be no need for this partonising **** as the "system "would have enabled us to be intergraged into society fairly

all this does is further re-enforce that there are divisions between black and white, as the whites will say why are they having the attention for a whole month whe we get nothing and the blacks will say why do we only get one month.

Answer 9

Guilt. Guilt is a powerful motivator. (Just ask any Catholic.) I'd rather see a multicultural month... where all traditions can be honored an accepted. If you ask most African-Americans they will tell you they don't want to be tokens of political correctness, just allowed to celebrate their culture. I think all cultural groups want that. I think we can honor all groups. We don't need seperate days or months or whatever.

To a previous answerer there is a Native American month - it's Novemeber (to "counter act" Thanksgiving) and there is also Asian-American month and Latino American month... but no White American, Caucasian or European American Month.

Answer 10

well first of all you would'nt noe the first thing about black ppl cause you ain't one.
black history month is to let everyone noe and remember wat the black ancesters had to go through and we remember how we came to have freedom. because you just can't remembr wat you came from or put it behind you. SO DON"T GET IT TWISTED!! well white ppl is the ones that held us in slavery so they don't need no month + they always discriminating and tryna take over so i sayf-u-c-k the white they can suck ma balls (if i had some) lol