No more Black History Month

THE EDITOR, Madam:

FOR THE past two weeks, I have been reading articles from around the world about this Black History Month, but I still don’t see anyone explaining why blacks were, or should be given a month to celebrate their history. What is this history all about? Is this month given for us blacks to tell our history, or to just recognise that we are black? I haven’t seen any white history month, and why not?

I believe that it’s time for us as black people to drop this Black History Month celebration, because there is nothing to be celebrated, and nothing to tell.

Let’s instead have what is called Emancipation Month, where the whites who have done us wrong will be the ones who have to tell the story of their evil against us, instead of us trying to tell a half-story of what we were fed. The people who carried out the crimes against us should be the ones who should be telling the story of black people.

I believe that this would be more effective for generations of whites, as well as blacks, to fully understand what has happened and why it should never be allowed to continue.

Right now, somehow it seems like we are just being thrown a bone, something we should believe is good for us because they give us a month to celebrate our enslavement and our subhumanity. If we use the word ‘emancipation’, this, I believe, would lead to the whites explaining to their kids what the meaning of this word is. It would also be in books so that they can learn and make sure that these things will never be repeated.

Black History Month seems like just throwing a bone to a pesky set of people who the whites will still look down at, and still see, as half of a human being.

ROBERT CLARKE