This was printed in 2020; however, I feel like sharing it again with a little editing. Let’s briefly recount the advent of Black History Month, also called African-American History Month, originally began as Negro History Week in 1926, during the second week of February because it coincided with the birthdates of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian is credited with the creation of Negro History Week. In 1976, the bicentennial of the U.S., President Gerald R. Ford expanded the week into a full month. He said the country needed to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Some, even to this day, still object to this noted celebration in February and I will expound briefly 5 reasons why we should still celebrate B.H.M:
1. Celebrating Honors the Historic Leaders of the Black Community:
Medgar, Martin, Cornel West, Joe Louis Clark, Daniel Hale Williams, Patrick Francis Healy, Alexander Twilight, John Weslley Gilbert, Ernest Everett Just, Percy Julian, Rick Kittles, James West, John H. Johnson, Madame C.J. Walker, Benjamin Banneker, Garrett Morgan, Guion Bluford, Ronald McNair, Mae Jemison, Bishop Richard Dr. Charles Drew, Matthew Henson, Rev. Dr. Charles Alert Tindley, Harry Hosier, Richard Allen, Arthur George (A.G.) Gaston, Phylis Wheatley, Lewis Latimer, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks, Arna Bontemps, Marie Ban Brittan Brown, Philip Emeagwalie, McCoy, Dorothy Height, Mary and Mildred Davidson, Joseph Faulkner, J. D. Cameron, Dr. J. W. Stewart.
2. Celebrating Helps Us to Be Better Stewards of the Privileges We’ve Gained:
If we don’t tell the old, old stories, then the next generation, and we ourselves will forget them. We tend to take for granted the rights that many people before them sweated, bled, and died to secure what we have now Apart from an awareness of the past, we can never appreciate the blessings we enjoy in the present!
3. Celebrating Provides an Opportunity to Highlight the Best of Black History &
Culture:
Applauding the verses of the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley, the first African American poet and woman to publish a book; we can groove to soulful jazz and somber blues music composed by the likes of Miles Davis and Robert Johnson…(to be continued)
4. Celebrating Creates Awareness for All People:
We give citizens of all races the opportunity to learn about a past and a people of which they may have little awareness.
5. Celebrating Reminds Us All that Black History is OUR History:
Hispanic, Asian, European, and Native history) belongs to all of us black and white, men and women, young and old…the impact African Americans have made on this country is part of our collective consciousness__it draws people of every race into the grand and diverse story of this nation.
WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD CELEBRATE
BLACK HISTORY MONTH…
God’s common and special grace will work themselves out in the movement of a particular race’s culture and history. We can look back on the brightest and darkest moments of our past and see God at work: His life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He’s writing a story that points to His glory, a new creation, and HIS people won’t have a month set aside to remember HIS greatness. We’ll have all eternity!
Proud to be an American, Black, and a Christian.
Brenda M. J. Hutchinson
