The observation of Black History Month has become a bittersweet
celebration for some black scholars.
While the recognition of the societal impact blacks have had on
American culture is generally thought by scholars to be positive,
some believe that the condensing of black history into a single
month, rather than having it be a part of day-to-day education and
cultural understanding, has its downsides.
“I understand the concern that relegating it to a month
takes away the idea that African American history is American
history,” said Franklin Gilliam, a UCLA associate vice
chancellor and a professor of political science.
“I suspect that some people are concerned that issues of
importance to African Americans are relegated to one month, and
that they are not seen as being issues that should be of concern to
most Americans on an ongoing basis,” Gilliam said. “We
don’t have an American history month. We don’t have a
white history month.”
“If things were right, I guess, we wouldn’t have to
have a month, which some joke about as being the shortest month of
the year, to raise people’s consciousness,” said M.
Belinda Tucker, professor of psychology and biobehavioral science
and a faculty assistant for the Bunche Center for African American
Studies.
How Black History Month is observed “varies from place to
place,” said Mark Alleyne, the center’s associate
director of research.
“It’s what people make it. … For some people it is
paying attention to African American history for one month and then
not for the rest of the year,” Alleyne said.
He said he believes “there has been a traditional neglect
of black history in American popular culture as well as in
education,” which makes Black History Month necessary.
Gilliam agreed, saying, “One of the reasons (Black History
Month) was instituted is that people knew very little about African
American history. That history has been marginalized, and in a
large part that was because they were not involved in the telling
of their own story.”
It provides an opportunity for the black community to share with
the rest of society their achievements, Gilliam said.
Alleyne noted that some people have a “cynical
attitude” about the fact that there is one month out of the
year dedicated to black history. He personally disagrees with that
perspective.
“You could say that about every major form of notation on
the calendar,” Alleyne said.
The important thing to note is that regardless of whether there
is a month to celebrate black history, there are still significant
challenges to racial justice in the United States, Gilliam said,
observing that the country seems to be moving away from those
issues.
“The litany is long. … There’s a huge to do
list,” Gilliam said.
“And while I think it would be wrong to deny that we have
not made changes in this society, it is all the more clear that we
have much further to go,” Gilliam said, mentioning issues
such as access to education, the quality of that education,
employment, housing and access to credit.