Black History Must Move Forward

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Today is the last day of Black History Month. This is a leap year so this is the rare extra day we get to celebrate those who came before us. While I understand the need for Black History Month and pay homage to and thanks for Carter G. Woodson, this celebration serves as a monument to the racial problems in this country.

History, true and pure history, is not subjective. It is what it is. History is so important and critical to our existence and progression that various cultures had griots whose sole purpose was to record and share history. Any deviation from the truth cost that griot his life. In those cultures, history was literally not to be touched.

I said all that to say that Black History is American History. It should be included whenever and wherever history is taught. When teaching World War II history, the Tuskegee Airman should be taught. The contributions of the 761st Tank Battalion should be taught. One would be surprised how significant the contributions of Black Americans were in World War II and in all wars.

Ron DeSantis wants to hide history (even more than it has been) and alter it where he can. According to him, slavery was a job training program. His solution is to keep having the European fantasy of American history to be taught. God forbid we put truth in the history booksand teach that.

On second thought, maybe DeSantis has a point. It is becoming increasingly clear that far too many American citizens have no interest in the truth. In order to embrace and support Trump,truth cannot be high on your priority list.

However, if we are going to progress as Americans and America has any chance of even getting close to her promise, truth must become as important to us as it was to the griots. Even though we don’t seem to realize, our lives do depend on it.

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