REFLECTIONS ON BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Having worked in education for the past seven years, I have come to feel an intense discomfort about the month of February.

Since we have been given the opportunity to celebrate black history for an entire month, can't this time be better spent extolling the virtues and talents of other black luminaries such as the famous scientists, doctors, lawyers, and politicians that deserve the accolades they never received as well as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X?

Don't misunderstand. Not for a moment am I minimizing the contributions they made to our people and history nor am I saying they are not worthy of the recognition they receive during this time.  However in most urban classrooms of color, these seem to be the only personalities that are taught as having made any kind of meaningful impact.

Yes, you might see the occasional poster of Ralph Bunche, Thurgood Marshall or Booker T. Washington. You might here a mention of Maya Angelou or Althea Gibson and lets certainly not forget the inordinate amount of time spent recognizing our black entertainers or sports figures. However not nearly enough time is spent on successful contemporary professionals that could serve to inspire particularly our male youth to become something other than NBA, NFL stars or rappers.

In addition to the usual historical figures, lets teach them about Lewis Howard Latimer who patented an improved method for the production of carbon filaments used in light bulbs without which Thomas Edison's bulb wouldn't have been as successful.

Let's not forget Charles Drew, a doctor and surgeon who researched and specialized in the field of blood transfusions and developed improved techniques for blood storage. Out of his work came the American Red Cross Blood Bank; George Washington Carver, a botanist and inventor that developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts such as cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline and nitroglycerin; Daniel Hale Williams, who performed the first successful pericardium surgery to repair a wound.

While we're at it, let's not forget the contributions of some our women that are rarely recognized such as Claudette Colvin who was actually the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama before Rosa Parks or Roger Arliner Young who was the first black woman to receive a doctorate in zoology.

And although we may have taught our young girls about Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space, let's not forget Bessie Coleman who probably inspired her because Coleman was the first black female pilot.

Let these be some of the names included in our bountiful history so that our young people are inspired to follow in their footsteps by studying math, science, literature, grammar, social studies as well as American and World History which will help them be successful in a rapidly changing, globally competitive environment.

The reflections on the horrors of slavery and the repetitive reminders of the Underground Railroad need to be told and have been told and beaten to death to the point where it is no longer informative to anyone, especially white America but looked upon with contempt and disdain as a means to only inflict guilt and shame instead of inspire compassion and regret. Our history should be told and incorporated into American history so that it is not only an annual celebration and a regular part of the educational curriculum in mostly black schools but all schools - white and black.

What bothers me is not that we have a Black History Month but that we've used it so pitifully over the years. It has become filled with the same sad ineffective clichés, especially in black academia. However the responsibility should not be exclusively that of educators but should be taught by parents in the home.

The late John Ogbu, Professor of Anthropology at Berkeley says in his book "Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement" black students in the affluent homes of doctors and lawyers are looking at rappers in ghettos as their role models. Students talk the talk about what it takes to be a good student, but few put forth the effort required to get good grades. Ogbu believes that many black parents are not offering sufficient guidance, do not spend enough time helping with homework and do not pay adequate attention to their children's educational progress or entertainment habits.

Let's use this month to inform our people and particularly our youth about what can be done instead of not only what has been done by our people. Yes, it's an entire month and some may think it too long but since we've been granted this time let's use it more constructively and productively to improve our situations.