In My Voice: Black Culture and History- Writing Ourselves into Existence
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Posted By: Albert Phillips on March 21, 2012 Last month in America, many African Americans were jumping around, waving their Black history flag and blowing the dust off their old Angela Davis tee shirts. Some even sported a natural hair style in honor of Black history month, but the problem with this all is that it’s not continual. The perpetuation of Black history is distorted and schools usually give a watered down, highly summarized, substance lacking version of the achievements of Black Americans at best. Since I was attending William Pinderhughes Elementary School, in the heart of West Baltimore, right across the street from the historic Pennsylvania Avenue, I was given the most “dumbed down” version of Black history ever. I remember being in our school’s Black history play and acting the role of Garret Morgan, the inventor of the gas mask, traffic light, among other things. As great as the play was, once it was over, Black history in my school left with it. The reset button on play time and laughter had been pushed and all the Black stuff was once again gone from our psyche. So, now that Black history is gone out the window, anything African is completely rejected. The mainstream white media has depicted Africans as savage and unable of being a civil human being. As a result of this corporate sponsored programming, the only image of Africa the child is left with is a make believe Disney character known as Tarzan. In the lunchroom joke sessions, young children, and even some adults these days, use the term “African booty scratcher” as a result of their blissful ignorance. Most historians will agree that slavery began around 1619 but there’s always a debate about exactly when it ended, if ever. Blacks went through the Black codes, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and other periods where major legislation was supposed to free us but did it ever really? If a law has to free you, are you really free? These are some of the fundamentals questions that haven’t been drilled into our people enough. Black history month, started by historian and scholar Carter. G. Woodson is a segment of what is the African experience. I don’t have any problem with people being culturally aware for February. My only issue is that it stops for the rest of the year. Every company has a “Black History Blow Out Sale” to try and market to Black consumers and we fall for it every year. The answer is simple; it has to stop! Parents have to revisit Black history, at least for the children’s sake. It’s really not that hard at all. You just have to sit down with the oldest person in the family and let them talk. We all know our grandmother can cook the best Thanks Giving (or Native American Holocaust) dinner in the world but she’s also a huge vessel of knowledge and wisdom. About three years ago, I had to do an interview with my grandmother on my father’s side of the family and I was in awe of how much information she possessed. She can recall firsthand accounts of having to leave school to use the bathroom and how the Black experience in America was one of struggle and triumph. That’s what our children need to hear. That is Black history. That is African history. We have to know that what we will know will ultimately determine who we become. If all our children know is slavery, they will be slaves. If all we go to school for is to get a job, we will just be workers. If all we eat is fried foods, we will probably develop a health problem. We have a frozen sense of cultural reality but the best thing about all of it is, it’s not too late to change. All of our books on Black achievements have not been torched like ancient African libraries in the past. There are plenty of documentaries, lectures, articles, and other forms of media that document our history. All in all Black history month is a joyous time has to last a little longer this year. Let’s pull out the dashiki and keep it out for the rest of year. Let’s remind ourselves that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did more than once speech and that Malcolm X is more than just a guy holding a gun in a picture. We can rebuild those bridges that racism has torn down. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Albert Phillips
Cashier, The Land of Kush Morgan State University class of 2013 Member Since September 2007 |
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