Constitutional Blasphemy

Black History Month

Humans with the darkest skin have been systematically disenfranchised, first by each other, enslaving themselves and saving themselves through often desperate measures.  Black people, enslaved by white people, facing constant and horrific brutality, being murdered without legal consequence, beginning approximately 3000 years ago, continue to face these tragedies today. People of color have been omitted from, or at most, given an insignificant place in classroom history textbooks, e.g., an aside separated from the main text of the book, as if to say, well, there was one person of color who happened to do something of great historical significance, and aren’t we white, male historians magnanimous for including them in our book. But of course, this is not the main or most important part of history one should know about. 

My ultimate point is to say, someday we will not need a Black History Month, a Women’s History Month, an Hispanic Heritage History Month, etc, because all humans who have made a significant contribution to the evolution of society will be written into the body of classroom textbooks.

Until then, Black History Month (the shortest month of the year, which my mind turns into a subtle stab in the back with a wink to the white people who came up with the idea) is where we all learn about people with the blackest skin, the “other gender,” and those with a different ethnic ancestry, what their very significant contributions to humanity. This case is one of those. 

https://www.history.com/.amp/news/smallpox-vaccine-onesimus-slave-cotton-mather