February marks the celebration of Black History Month which was brought into effect in order to remember the many events and achievements made in history related to the African Diaspora. This annual remembrance is unfortunately not celebrated by South Africans, but it is seen as an important event in the United States as well as Canada, and is even celebrated by the UK in the month of October.
The remembrance was founded in 1926 by the US Historian Carter Woodson and was originally pegged as “Negro History Week”, but it soon developed into a month of remembrance. Negro History Month usually occurred in the second week of February because of the birthdays of two great influences on the lives and social conditions of African Americans which were in that week – Abraham Lincoln and former slave Frederick Douglass.
Black History Month came into being because of the lack of recorded history involving African Americans. The only history that was often recorded involved the undermining representations of slaves and their situations, with a few exceptions such as George Washington Carver. The aim of Black History Month is to give credit to the slaves that were brought over to America and to the Negroes who fought tirelessly for their rights.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding Black History Month, also known in the US as African-American History Month, mainly because some societies question whether it is still relevant. Although the struggle for the rights of African American’s has been resolved it is still important to consider that a remembrance to their struggle is necessary in order to remind everyone of the struggles that the country would like to avoid in future. Some critics, such as actor Morgan Freeman, state that Black History Month is indeed irrelevant because it has degenerated into a shallow ritual which calls for more conflict between races.
Some citizens see the annual remembrance of Black History Month as a reminder of their past mistakes, and they can see no way to move forward from this. Although it is true that one should not dwell in the past, it is important to remember that all forms of History be given fair opportunity to be recorded, hence the purpose of this celebration.
South Africa, although not involved in the celebration of Black History Month, have a form of celebration that occurs later on in the year as well. This rememberance is known as Black Consciousness Month, and it is focused on more or less the same as its American counterpart. It is celebrated in order to raise awareness of the many African cultures around the country, as well as appreciation for the lesser-noted ones such as the Rusta movement. Look forward to the celebrations which will be occuring on campus very soon.
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