Gregory Freeman: Who Needs Black History Month? All Of Us Do. P-D, 2/1/1998

Headline: WHO NEEDS BLACK HISTORY MONTH? ALL OF US DO
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., Feb. 1, 1998
Section: NEWS ANALYSIS, Page: B1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Valuable lesson
   Sunday kicks off Black History Month.
   And if this year is like past years, some whites will scratch their heads and say they don't get it. Every year around this time, I get a few letters from readers who tell me they don't understand why we celebrate Black History Month. There's no white history month, they say, so why should we celebrate the history of blacks?
   My response is always the same: While we obviously know a great deal about the history of whites in America, relatively little is known about the history of black Americans. Even in the late '90s, when diversity is the buzzword everywhere, the history of African-Americans - both locally and nationally - is a well-kept secret, especially in some circles.

Whenever I write about black history - and the need for us to know more about it - I inevitably receive at least one letter from someone who says that black students don't need to know such history, that they would instead do better concentrating on reading, writing and arithmetic.
   While I would never argue that the "three R's" are not important, I would suggest that history is just as important a subject for students. Where would we be if we didn't know the history behind the Constitution? The Declaration of Independence? The Emancipation Proclamation?
   Most people would be considered uneducated if they'd never heard of those documents, even though they have no direct relation to reading, writing and arithmetic.
   To understand our nation, one has to learn history. You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. Perhaps if more people were familiar with the history of blacks in this country, relations among people of different races would be better.

But Black History Month is not just important because blacks should know about their history.
   In fact, it's as important - if not more important - for whites to be aware of the contributions of blacks to America.
   Through stereotypes, African-Americans in this country are often painted as people who take, take, take and never give. Think about yourself. Do you know someone who always takes but never contributes? Chances are you don't have much respect for that person. The same can be the case for an entire group of people, if you believe those people to be perpetual takers.
   In fact, blacks have given much to this country and to the world. Black History Month is an attempt to set the record straight and to point out what's been given.

So what's the hstory behind Black History Month?
It began in 1926, promoted by historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson developed the concept - which started as Negro History Week - because at that time, black contributions had been all but ignored by schools of lower and higher education. Woodson chose February because it contained the birthdates of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
The whole idea of a Negro History Week was initially dismissed by many whites, who wondered how there could possibly be enough contributions by blacks to fill up an entire week. But Woodson persisted, and Negro History Week eventually evolved into Black History Month because of the many contributions by blacks in America and around the world.

Still, is black history really that important?

Well, how many people know that a black man, Jean Baptiste DuSable, was a founder of Chicago? DuSable later moved to St. Charles, incidentally, where he owned property. A St. Charles park is named for him.
Who knows that Godfrey was a secret home for runaway slaves who stole across the Mississippi River into Illinois from Missouri? In Illinois, they found refuge among anti-slavery white families settling the area.
How many are aware that until recent decades, blacks had no access to mainstream newspapers? Newspapers like the Chicago Defender were host to such writers as Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois.
How many people realize that until the 1960s, blacks searching classified ads in the local papers had to look for housing in the "Apartments for Colored" section?
Many are unaware of the historic Shelley vs. Kraemer decision of 1948, which originated in St. Louis. The Supreme Court struck down restrictive covenants, which had prevented whites from selling homes to blacks on certain streets on the grounds that the presence of blacks would destroy the character of the neighborhoods.
I'd bet few people know who Homer G. Phillips was. Sure, most St. Louisans have probably heard of the now-shuttered North Side hospital that bore his name, but how many know that he was a prominent black lawyer here in the early part of this century? Phillips, the son of a Methodist minister, was a vocal champion of the rights of black people who fought vigorously for nonsegregated city housing, job equality and open public accommodations.

This area and this nation are filled with the history of African-Americans who have made a difference. Some of this history has been buried; some of it is even suppressed today. But it's there.
History is a road map to the future. Black History Month is an effort to add details to that map.
Smart people learn from their mistakes. That's what makes Black History Month so important to all of us: To make sure we don't make the same mistakes today that we've made in the past.

Here's hoping that you learn some things this month that you didn't know before.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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