Today, February 1, is the first day of Black History Month. It may be the shortest month of the year, but Black History is an unending story. Black History is a painful journey, to say the least; however, there are also stories of hope and victory throughout Black History.
In terms of its recognition in the United States, Black History dates as far back as the early 1600s. According to a Black History Timeline on www.biography.com, the first African slaves were brought to America in 1619. After nearly 200 years, in 1808, the United States banned the import of slaves, who were being brought to the Americas via the deadly and unsanitary triangular trade. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the freedom of slaves and made the ending of slavery a major goal of the Civil War. In 1865, the Civil War ended and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. Sadly, President Lincoln was assassinated that year.
Some notable figures in Black History are: Nat Turner (1800-1831), William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), Dred Scott (1795-1858), Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), Ida B. Wells Barnett (1862-1931), W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963), Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), Malcolm X (1925-1965), Rosa Parks (1913-2005), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968); and in more recent history, Oprah Winfrey, General Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Carol Mosley Braun, Mae Jemison, Toni Morrison, Bernard Harris; and the current president of the United States, Barack Obama. These are only a few of the many heroes who have helped to shape Black History and to pave the way for generations of today and generations to come.
During Black History Month, I encourage everyone to take some time out to reflect on the past, present and future of Black History – the trials and struggles, the battles that were won and those that were lost, the victories achieved and those yet to come; the way Black History has, and still continues to shape our country and our world; the people who gave their lives fighting for our rights, freedom and equality; and what we have become today, as individuals, as a community, as a country, or nation.
Were the bitterness and brutalities of slavery, the struggles and suffering of our ancestors, freedom fighters, abolitionists, and the like, all in vain? It appears the further we get from our history, the more we forget. That is why the observance of Black History Month is significant, even if just for 28 days each year, though it should be remembered everyday.
Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
– philosopher George Santayana