Black History Month

John T. Wilson (1914 – 1990) was a storied academic at several institutions but most notably at the University of Chicago. He shared this thought some time back:

“Some ask, ‘Why is there no white history month?’ The answer is that it has all been white history.”

We lose sight of that, don’t we? We wonder why there is a need to pay more attention to one segment of society or another. The reason is that those segments tend to get lost in the overwhelming presence of primary social currents. If many of the newsmakers are men, women become eclipsed. If all we see are Caucasians, whenever do we really see African-Americans and Hispanics? Might these moments of attention on ‘minorities’ be associated with crime reports or social issues in need of national attention? You know, the problems?

In short do we learn of non-Caucasian peoples associated with stories of a positive nature or negative?

An honest answer is obvious. So the attention from time to time is forced to be positive. Thus many years ago Black History Month was created. Since then American society has engaged in programs of recognition for many minorities among us. The oddest one I think is the attention on women’s issue. First of all they are not a minority, but you would think they are when the facts and figures of discrimination are tallied. How hidden from view were women’s issues!  Not as much today, thank God. All men have many women in their lives, significant women; why then did the men allow women’s issues to develop in the first place?

There are many reasons for this, and that is a subject for another day at the blogging keyboard!  For now, let us focus on Black History Month.

Rosa Parks, the first black person to challenge the American South’s discriminatory public bus riding rules, sat in the front of the bus and remained there stubbornly. She was arrested and publicly humiliated. Thus started a major chapter in the American Civil Rights Movement that eventually led to vast success.

Rosa Parks advised all of us with these words:

            “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”

Doing what is right is often quite lonely. Mainly because we are not sure it is right. Wondering about that, even worrying about it, slows down our adoption of appropriate action. But then right buoys our resolve and we act. We may be fearful of consequences but we should not be fearful of what we do when we know it is right.

How many others are doing the right things right under our noses without our knowing it?  This anonymous quote pops to mind:

“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us but those who win battles we know nothing about.”

Private acts of heroism unseen. Practiced charity without fanfare. An anonymous donation. Or simply a helping hand when none is requested but sorely needed. Think of the helpful push out of a snow bank in recent days? Or a neighbor shoveling your walk or driveway when you couldn't do it yourself? How many acts such as these are performed everyday unseen but with telling impact?

We shall never know. But the character of our people are made healthy and whole from such.

Steven Cosgrove is a popular author of children’s books and designer of toys. He has stated:

“Never judge someone by the way he looks or a book by the way it’s covered;  for inside those tattered pages there’s a lot to be discovered.”

Wise words and ones I am delighted are from a children’s author!!  Good to know he is a role model behind the role models!

We know the mongrel dog is as capable of performing heroic feats as the prized pure bred canine, and often is the storied player in human interest stories. There are many more mongrels among us than pure breeds. There are thus many more players of good deeds available among the population. Beauty need not be the result of kennel club purity! There are champions throughout our numbers. And we judge them poorly if we judge them at all. They each have inestimable value.

Back to Black History Month. When I worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago our office was in charge of campus programming for art, culture and entertainment. Black History Month was a huge effort to recognize a segment of our society often ignored and reviled. No more. We pay homage where it is due. And much is owed to our black brothers and sisters. Same for our Hispanic family, Asian-American citizens, and neighbors of every stripe and background.

Ours is a diverse nation. It is the diversity that makes us strong. We ignore it at peril of our future. Welcome and honor Black History Month.

February 20, 2014