Many of us are reveling in black history and culture this month, yet a backlash is building among black scholars and officials, the Associated Press reported recently. John Wiley Price, the lone black county commissioner in Dallas, explained last week, “I’m not going to be, as the kids say, ‘pimped’ during the month of February.”
Price has grown weary of the cycle: being bombarded with speaking invitations in February, and then for the other 11 months, his phone stops ringing.
So Price says he’s boycotting Black History Month. He spoke to 100 middle school students -- mostly black -- about history, responsibility and their futures on Jan. 31. February, however, is off-limits for black history speaking engagements.
I hear Price, and other speakers regarding their stand.
There’s a cynical inside joke that Black History Month should also be known as Black Employment Month since February is the time when black people are in demand to present and represent.
Princeton University historian Nell Irvin Painter told the AP that she declines numerous speaking invitations because they typically come from groups that “want to hear the same old thing, very often.”
Painter was not specific, however, the “same old thing” sounds to me like lectures about Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver or Sojourner Truth, powerful historical figures, but heroes who have been marginalized because of the cookie-cutter ways black history often is presented.
Here’s a suggestion or two: Let’s continue the February focus on black history, yet understand that black history is a year-round exploration. Some people get this. Many others need to get it.
Second, and this is a memo to black folk: Protect the historical integrity of Black History Month. Painter explained that February has become “a corporate holiday, a way for corporations and museums, and the U.S. Postal Service to declare they’re multicultural bona fide.” I’m fine with well-intentioned corporate interest, but troubled if we stand by and let the rigor or richness get watered down or erased from our story by others.
Also consider this: Black History Month is about to share the year-round calendar with other emerging ethnic and gender groups. This is a heads-up to get ready to share the attention, black America.
I’ll explain. Black History Month is in this nation’s consciousness because its roots go back to 1926 and Negro History Week, the second week of February that celebrated the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Contrary to what standup comics say, blacks did not get February because it’s the shortest month.
In 1976, a presidential decree expanded black history celebrations to a full month.
Other Americans of color have turned up in blacks’ rear view mirrors as veritable heritage competitors.
In 1968, Hispanic Heritage Week was established in mid-September. The timing recognized the independence days of five Latin American countries on Sept. 15 -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua -- plus Mexico’s independence on Sept. 16 and Chile’s on Sept. 18.
In 1988, the U.S. government declared a month-long celebration from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Ignore this reality at your own peril. Latinos now equal or possibly exceed black America as the largest ethnic minority in los Estados Unidos. Sheer Hispanic numbers will command more attention to their heritage this century.
In 1978, 10 days in May were designated as Asian Pacific Heritage Month. Why? Because May commemorates immigration of the first Japanese to America in 1843. That month also marked completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, which was mostly built by Chinese labor.
In 1990, the 10-day celebration was expanded to a month.
And March is Women’s History Month. Its celebratory roots reach back about 90 years to International Women’s Day celebrations, according to Infoplease.com.
Great white women are recognized, however next month does not exclude giving black women and other notable women of color their proper due.
So in this truly multicultural society, America’s calendar is filling up with ethnic history celebrations. Without at least a month to focus on our past and our achievements, black history could become even more marginalized, or outright ignored.
Many black scholars see the danger of just being boxed in to February. They protested by declining speaking engagements. Most of them have conflicted feelings.
Columbia University African-American Studies professor Robin D.G. Kelley, who declined 100 invites this month, told the AP “Just when I’m about to get cynical, I give a talk, and I have such great engagements with the community and students. People are hungry for a conversation … I remember that hunger myself as a young person.”
It’s up to all of us to feed that hunger, 365 days a year.
