Am I the only person who doesn't like Black History Month?

[Jonluw]

I would like an Aztec/Maya/Inca history month.

It seriously bothers me that people managed to wipe out an entire (advanced) culture like that.
It would have been so awesome if we just had developed separately and reached similar levels of technology. Or at the very least developed together like Europe and Asia. The gap between Asian culture(s) and European culture(s) is pretty big, and it would be awesome if we had another gap like that.

I count the extinction of those societies among the most regrettable actions in human history.

 

[tstilwell]

I have to agree with you. I am a teacher and the whole Black History Month becomes a distraction. In my state, which has been facing financial and educational ruin for many years, it seems that the ONLY history that my students get to learn about is black history. The only historical figure that they know, at least until they reach high school, is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What about Washington? Jefferson? Lincoln? All they can say about Lincoln is that he "freed the blacks". [That was a literal quote that was told to me by a sophmore]. When I probed her to tell me anything else about him, like maybe his job [i.e. President of the United States of America] I got a blank stare.

Our students are going through the motions. They have no idea what any of this means. History should be taught as a complete story. Not piecemeal focused on one ethnicity or another. Yes, slavery was a horrible time in American history. However, almost every culture on the planet is guilty of slavery at one time or another, including the African empires. It is a horrible reoccurance in human history, not just American history.

My poor white students are shamed into silence every day when they have just as much for which to be proud of their cultures. Western culture invented democracy (Greeks), representative governments (Romans), and civil rights (see Magna Carta). They have a rich history of brave exploration and discovery, including the Norse discovery of the American continents and the first man to reach the North Pole (William Parry), and the entirity of the Space Race. They have great thinkers and philosphers, such as Plato and John Locke.

Our Black History Months also forget that white men were fighting along side the blacks in the abolitionist movement. The man who arguably sparked the American Revolution, Thomas Paine, authored the first American abolitionist essay, "African Slavery in America", in 1775. John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr join Paine in being early American abolitionists. President Kennedy fought along side Dr. King for the Black Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Abolition and anti-discrimation was not the act of one man or even the act of a few determined reformists. They were the collective effort of the nation to purge an evil from its midst. We can all take credit for it and we are all charge with continuing its legacy by making sure our own decisions reflect its virtues, not only in our conduct to the blacks, but in our conduct to all peoples who are different than us. Discrimination is a demon present in all races, nationalities, genders, and social groups. We must all work hard to judge people on who they are, not what they are.

I close in the "geekist" way I can think of: with a Star Trek quote. However, I believe that it is more than appropriate in this situation: if we value freedom and virtue, then we must celebrate "infinite diversity in infinite combinations".

 

[Dragunai]

Anyone seen that Seinfeld statement made by one of the actors in court when he got called up on racism charges?

I'm not a person who gives a damn about someones ethnicity, I am however someone who thinks biast attitudes in governments and one sided treatment of anyone in any circumstance is total bullshit.

This is the statement the guy made (Think his name is Michael Richards):

"his was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in
his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points. He said :
I'm proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actuall y paying attention to this ?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.

But when I call you, ******, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-******, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or ***** ...
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?

You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance'
OUR lives we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce,
and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that ?

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college
fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be
racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US .
Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your
race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and
orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.

But , w hen a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud.
But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?"

Posted this as it is subject to the topic and I think the guy made a pretty fair point about the whole thing.

 

[DoctorPhil]

Anyone seen that Seinfeld statement made by one of the actors in court when he got called up on racism charges?

I'm not a person who gives a damn about someones ethnicity, I am however someone who thinks biast attitudes in governments and one sided treatment of anyone in any circumstance is total bullshit.

This is the statement the guy made (Think his name is Michael Richards):

"his was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in
his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points. He said :
I'm proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actuall y paying attention to this ?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.

But when I call you, ******, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-******, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or ***** ...
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?

You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance'
OUR lives we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce,
and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that ?

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college
fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be
racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US .
Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your
race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and
orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.

But , w hen a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud.
But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?"

Posted this as it is subject to the topic and I think the guy made a pretty fair point about the whole thing.

This guy is suggesting is that black people living in the ghetto are dangerous only because they're black, not because they grew up in the ghetto and had no (good) education.
Hew also says black, brown, yellow and orange people rob, carjack and shoot at white people. That really is kinda (or not so kinda) racist.

He has a small point, but it's buried below all the bullshit he's saying.

That being said, I don't think he should be taken to court for cracking racist jokes.

As Moviebob said, it is indeed not fair. In a perfect world, there would be no black colleges and the like, only just colleges. But this is not a perfect world. Black colleges exist because they're necesary, somebody's got to give them a fair chance of getting into a college. Minorities need the extra help. Whites are not the minority over there, so they don't need "White entertainment television" etc.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

I couldn't agree with you more. I've always found it to be...redundant. Every year it's the same--the angry black community get's to shout their collective ravings about how "YOU DID BAD THINGS TO US!" and "WE SHALL STAND TOGETHER AGAINST RACISM AND HATE!" and all of the children's TV networks do happy little highlights on kids whose parents came from Kenya or whatever. And meanwhile, the white community either totally ignores it (much like someone trying to ignore a rainstorm at the beach), or a few come out and essentially say "We are so, SO sorry about that."

It's completely lost its purpose. It's just a huge parade of political correctness on both sides. If all of those people really want to help out black people that actually NEED help, they should take all of that time and money making multicultural banners to hang in the school for a month and go help out some low income neighborhoods. Raise awareness about gangs or something. Do stuff that is actually applicable to real life, and actually HELPS people.

 

[newfoundsky]

I DEMAND A MONTH FOR RED HAIRED INDIVIDUALS OF MIXED SCOT-IRISH DESCENT!

After all, what is a couple hundred years of self perpetuated slavery compared to a millennium of outright oppression?

 

[D Builder]

I'm a high school social studies teacher (at least that's what the degree and the certificate say, the job market not so much) and I'm not really a fan either. I think it has the potential to be really great (same with Women's History Month) but most teachers don't cover the material with any finesse. I know growing up most teachers inadvertently undermined the position of women and African Americans with their sloppy mishandling of these events - it can do a lot to reinforce a sense of token inclusion.

There are plenty of important people outside the mainstream that can be included in every-day lessons and I'd much rather see effort put into that that suddenly dropping what you're doing and effectively saying "these people aren't important enough for normal lessons."

I have seen the subject matter handled well, which usually involves being subtle and avoiding something that the kids will learn about elsewhere. In the case of Black History Month I'd avoid slavery or the Civil Rights movement to demonstrate that African Americans have a history outside of these events.

Why not cover slavery or civil rights? Not attacking your reasoning...just asking.

 

[D Builder]

Anyone seen that Seinfeld statement made by one of the actors in court when he got called up on racism charges?

I'm not a person who gives a damn about someones ethnicity, I am however someone who thinks biast attitudes in governments and one sided treatment of anyone in any circumstance is total bullshit.

This is the statement the guy made (Think his name is Michael Richards):

"his was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in
his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points. He said :
I'm proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actuall y paying attention to this ?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.

But when I call you, ******, Kike, Towel head,
Sand-******, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or ***** ...
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?

You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance'
OUR lives we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce,
and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that ?

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college
fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be
racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US .
Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your
race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and
orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.

But , w hen a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud.
But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?"

Posted this as it is subject to the topic and I think the guy made a pretty fair point about the whole thing.

This guy is suggesting is that black people living in the ghetto are dangerous only because they're black, not because they grew up in the ghetto and had no (good) education.
Hew also says black, brown, yellow and orange people rob, carjack and shoot at white people. That really is kinda (or not so kinda) racist.

He has a small point, but it's buried below all the bullshit he's saying.

That being said, I don't think he should be taken to court for cracking racist jokes.

As Moviebob said, it is indeed not fair. In a perfect world, there would be no black colleges and the like, only just colleges. But this is not a perfect world. Black colleges exist because they're necesary, somebody's got to give them a fair chance of getting into a college. Minorities need the extra help. Whites are not the minority over there, so they don't need "White entertainment television" etc.

There is Brigham Young(Morman white), Yashiva(Jewish white), Notre Dame(Irish white), Octoberfest(German white), Duke Nukem(Angry White)...just kidding...but you get the point.
And anyway...Why we are quoting from the book of Richards to prove a point I have no idea...but here we go... Whites of every color and nationality have their institutions and festivals.

Again...have them...have them all. Why is it always a 0 sum gain discussion... How bout this...white person of any nationality and origin learn something about someone black during black history month...and see if you ar enot better for it

Blacks, of any origin...learn something about a white nationality/culture that they did not know during (pick a month, there are 11 others)...and see if you are not better for it.

 

[D Builder]

I DEMAND A MONTH FOR RED HAIRED INDIVIDUALS OF MIXED SCOT-IRISH DESCENT!

After all, what is a couple hundred years of self perpetuated slavery compared to a millennium of outright oppression?

Having had beer with some of your countryman a few weeks ago...you get my vote.

 

[Coffinshaker]

Where's Jewish History Month then? Slavery was quite some time ago, and we're talking people like "my grandmother's grandermother". There's still people living from the holocaust.

Apparently there IS one!!! Jewish American Heritage Month: May [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_American_Heritage_Month]

I never knew! >O

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

I don't mind Black History month. What I do mind is some people telling me that I should feel sorry for slavery and that I as a white person bear some guilt.

Agreed

 

[Coffinshaker]

I DEMAND A MONTH FOR RED HAIRED INDIVIDUALS OF MIXED SCOT-IRISH DESCENT!

After all, what is a couple hundred years of self perpetuated slavery compared to a millennium of outright oppression?

Apparently they got that too! Irish American Heritage Month: March [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish-American_Heritage_Month]

hmm... I want a "Mutt Month" for people like me who are a little bit of everything (well... not everything, but you get my point)

 

[Quaxar]

I would SO celebrate samurai day! =D
Why hasn't that been done yet? Best idea I've heard!

This is silly.
Now pirate day, that'd be something!

Wait... we already have Talk-like-a-pirate-day. Arrr!
Nevermind then.

 

[KefkaCultist]

This video has probably been posted already, but I don't really wanna go through 7 pages to check for it.


Morgan Freeman completely schools this interviewer and makes perfect sense.

 

[Hungry Donner]

Why not cover slavery or civil rights? Not attacking your reasoning...just asking.

Slavery and Civil Rights are both very important, but they're already in the core curriculum - an American student will probably cover each of these in some depth a half a dozen times between Kindergarten and 12th grade. So also making them the focus of Black History Month not only strikes me as redundant but it suggests these are the only times African Americans were important during American history.

This is a bad thing to teach students.

It seems to me that Black History Month should be used to look at contributions and events outside of the core curriculum. Teach kids about people like George Washington Carver and Percy Lavon Julian, or spend a few days learning about the Harlem Renaissance or Black Indians. It doesn't all have to be weighty issues either. As I said before there is a real risk that pushing the "look, these people contributed too!" line will inadvertently suggest "these people contributed too, but not enough to get into the standard curriculum."

Selecting a broad subject matter that's unlikely to get any attention to begin with can have some benefit. Most social studies curriculum don't spend much time looking at scientists or artist movements - they certainly have some presence but usually as a secondary element to something else (like how the Manhattan Project is part of the WWII units that bog down so many years).

The thing is I wouldn't want to celebrate Black History month, I'd much rather do a mini-unit on American scientists or American art movements and include people from many diverse backgrounds - and run this mini-unit when it fits into the rest of the curriculum. Really if you want to bypass the "not important enough for the core curriculum" trap make sure you include these people throughout the year. (And paradoxically if you ignore BHM and do this you'll put yourself in a wonderful position to celebrate BHM - since African Americans show up throughout the year it won't feel like they need BHM to come up in the days lesson.)

 

[ckam]

Oh, we Asians still get the shit end of the stick, don't we?

 

[Dragunai]

snip

This guy is suggesting is that black people living in the ghetto are dangerous only because they're black, not because they grew up in the ghetto and had no (good) education.
Hew also says black, brown, yellow and orange people rob, carjack and shoot at white people. That really is kinda (or not so kinda) racist.

He has a small point, but it's buried below all the bullshit he's saying.

That being said, I don't think he should be taken to court for cracking racist jokes.

As Moviebob said, it is indeed not fair. In a perfect world, there would be no black colleges and the like, only just colleges. But this is not a perfect world. Black colleges exist because they're necesary, somebody's got to give them a fair chance of getting into a college. Minorities need the extra help. Whites are not the minority over there, so they don't need "White entertainment television" etc.

But now you're implying that the black people in the USA need special colleges because general colleges don't accept them meaning that white only colleges exist to some extent.

Why do minorities need the extra help?
They have been getting the extra help for decades now and it still shows no sign of making a difference.

He said "The ghettos are the most dangerous places" not as a racial slur but as a statement of fact. Anyone can succeed in the world if they want to. Getting a good education is a matter of asserting yourself in school then pushing for a decent college before using the above to get the job that lets you leave the ghetto assuming you didn't already leave for college.

If the people who live there don't want to do well in school then the alternative is to stay in the ghetto and fall in with the culture of the place which is violence.

His point was also - Why are there no white person ghettos? (insert trailer park joke here)

The point of the colours he pointed out committing crimes was a counter point to how white cops get punished for daring to apprehend crooks. No one gives a shit if a white guy gets shot for mugging an old lady by a cop but as soon as a non white is the subject of the cops gun suddenly its a racial issue.

I'm not being hostile toward you Phil, so please don't think I am. Just offering a counter point in a discussion.

We have the same issues here in the UK. The east side of London, Manchester and if I remember, Birmingham all have very high %s of crime which factually are tied to non whites yet when the police commissioner pointed this out he was tagged a racist by the media.

I don't know who is more to blame, the government for starting programmes that encourage a race divide (such as black only colleges) or the media for over hyping and twisting simple facts into racial frenzies.

In my eyes the whole thing is pathetic and sad. Why cant the powers that be just identify everyone as human and let the race thing go.

 

[Jonluw]

This video has probably been posted already, but I don't really wanna go through 7 pages to check for it.


Morgan Freeman completely schools this interviewer and makes perfect sense.

Since the video popped up again, I feel this is a good time to add:

I looove how hilariously uncomfortable that interviewer (Mike Wallace?) is.
He's all "Hoooly shit, he got slightly agitated! Am I a racist now? Does this make me a racist? Help!"
Wouldn't it have been great if people just stopped caring and quit being so awkward with racial issues?

But I like what he's saying Black(American) history is American history. Segregating Black(American) history from "Regular"(American) history just serves to make things awkward.

But then again, I don't live in the US. What do I know.