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 Let's Talk
Denise Rolark Barnes
Columnist Page
Friday, February 4, 2005; Page 20
Black History Month – My Favorite Time of the Year
I have the best job in the world. Publishing a Black newspaper requires that I spend nearly every part of my day staying consciously aware of what Black people are doing, thinking and saying. I don’t have to agree with them, and I especially don’t have to like what they say, but it is my business to know and to share what I know with others who want to know, as well.
I remember as a young child growing up in Washington, D.C., some people would try to convince me that this predominately Black world I was growing up in was unreal. It did not reflect what the real world was like where there were only a minority of Black people and most of them were not in-charge like they were quickly becoming in Washington, D.C.
And when I went off to college, to Hampton Institute and later back here to Howard University, some tried to convince me that I was depriving myself of experiencing the real world because my world was just too black.
But the one thing my world showed me everyday was that the people who I shared it with were experiencing all kinds of success in every kind of way. True, there were roadblocks and even some failures, but the vast majority of the folks I observed succeeded in this world that some called unreal.
And so, I don’t know if it was a calling or a pushing, but I ended up working for a black-owned company that required me to document the stories about the people I had observed and was continuing to observe throughout my life.
As a result, I don’t have to wait until February, when America is permitted to extol the achievements of African Americans to celebrate with them so that we can all feel proud. But I am excited when February comes around because I always learn so much. And I offer my gratitude in spirit to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month.
According to Dr. Woodson’s bio, he was born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia. His family taught him how to read, and he put himself though high school by working in the coal mines in West Virginia. Dr. Woodson graduated from Berea College in Kentucky and he was hired to teach English in the Philippines. When he returned to the U.S., he began teaching at Dunbar High School here in Washington, D.C. In 1912, he earned a Ph.D in history from Harvard University. Dr. Woodson is said to be the second African American to earn a Harvard doctorate degree. The brotha’ was bad! So bad that he spent the rest of his life promoting black education so that he could teach black children who would share with the world how great are the people they came from.
He went on to found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, the Journal of Negro History, the Associated Publishers and Negro History Bulletin. Thanks to the successful efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, even the products produced by black folks in the grocery story get prime placement during Black History Month.
So let’s not spend this month grumbling and joking about our one month of celebration. Use each day as if it is the end and don’t keep reminding folks that February happens to be the shortest month of the year. If every day was spent learning something new about your culture, your community, your family or yourself, it will have been time well spent, albeit 28 days.
This is family time, celebrate the good news with family and friends, and especially the children. They still don’t learn in their history classes what you can help teach them this month. Write essays, draw pictures, wear your old buttons, t-shirts or ethnic jewelry. Buy a book, a CD, watch a video, invest in a Black History game, sponsor a Black History trivia game at work, post Black History facts around the house or the job. Make a statement about being proud of who you are. It’s February, say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud, and feel good about it.
When the month is over, keep the spirit. Read black newspapers and keep black history alive.
For Denise Rolark Barnes send email to drbarnes@washingtoninformer.com |
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