#Oneonta Little brick church

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THE BLOUNT COUNTIAN: Black History is America's History

https://www.blountcountian.com/articles/black-history-is-americas-history/

Each February, Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history. It’s important that we take the time to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of Black Americans, honor their legacies and achievements of past generations, reckon with centuries of injustice, and confront those injustices that still exist today.

Generations of Black Americans have demonstrated courage and resilience. Those generations have helped shape this nation. Those generations have helped shape this state and this county.

In a 2021 article published online through the National Library of Medicine, Monica Peek wrote, “Black history is beautifully moving because it is the story of triumph over adversity, determination in the face of uncertainty, and courage and conviction standing down hate and violence. To be Black in the U.S. is to know struggle. It is to fight against structural inequities and indignity. It may be that this constant striving for equity makes Black people all the more committed to the ideals of justice, freedom and equity for everyone.

“Black history is America’s history. The narrative of Black people in the U.S. reveals more about who we are as a country — our difficult past, our painstaking movements forward towards justice, and our persistent racial wounds that we refuse to heal — than the sanitized history that children learn in our school systems. The omission of this narrative is not only harmful for Black people, it is harmful and dangerous for the entire country. Without a common foundational understanding of our nation’s racial history, we cannot possibly begin to step progressively into a future of racial reconciliation.”

It was February 1926 when Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., to ensure that school children were exposed to Black history. Woodson, the second Black American to receive a PhD in history from Harvard, chose the second week in February in order to celebrate the birthday of both President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. According to Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C, Woodson had two goals. “One was to use history to prove to white America that blacks had played important roles in the creation of America and thereby deserve to be treated equally as citizens. In essence, Woodson — by celebrating heroic black figures — be they inventors, entertainers, or soldiers — hoped to prove our worth, and by proving our worth — he believed that equality would soon follow. His other goal was to increase the visibility of black life and history. Ultimately Woodson believed Negro History Week — which became Black History Month in 1976 — would be a vehicle for racial transformation forever.”

The question has often been asked if there is a need to continue celebrating Black History Month each year. The answer is yes. Black history month continues to serves as a beacon of change and hope that is still needed today.

“The chains of slavery are gone — but we are all not yet free,” Bunch continued. “The great diversity within the Black community needs the glue of the African American past to remind us of not just how far we have traveled, but how far there is to go. One thing has not changed. That is the need to draw inspiration and guidance from the past. And through that inspiration, people will find tools and paths that will help them live their lives.

Celebrating Black History Month continues to serve us well. Ultimately, Black history — and its celebration throughout February — is just as vibrant today as it was when Woodson created it. Because it helps us to remember there is no more powerful force than a people steeped in their history. And there is no higher cause than honoring our struggle and ancestors by remembering.”

Black History Month affords us the chance to challenge what we learned in history and dig deeper. It allows us to learn about, celebrate, and honor Black leaders — leaders who sacrificed and suffered. And while those who contributed in the name of science and innovation were silently ignored, Black History Month continues to provide the platform to recognize and celebrate them today.

This week, there will be a local celebration of Black History Month as the Oneonta Southside and Sand Valley Civic Club hold the second annual African American Social in Oneonta’s Little Brick Church Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m. There will be special presentations as well as special music and dinner. While there is no cost to attend, donations to the club can be made.

The Blount Countian will be highlighting stories of Black history throughout the month of February to honor, recognize, and celebrate those who have forged the path for us today.