Posts from — February 2011

Or more to the point, what have we achieved by the (mostly ceremonial) naming of February as Black History Month? Black History for better or for worse is happening every day. A month to commemorate black history and celebrate significant achievements as determined by a small group of people is not really breaking any new ground.

My biggest problem with this label has more to do with what is celebrated during this month. Black History Month tends to be less ‘black’ history and more ‘black American’ history. Black history, as far I know, read and learned over the years, didn’t start at Plymouth Rock, Little Rock or Birmingham.

Black history is world history, and failing to educate people young and old on the contributions of people of African descent throughout time and around the globe is a slight that cannot be overlooked no matter how well intentioned the agenda being followed.

I know there are those out there that will question my reasons for saying this, and raise the tried and true arguments of “well, you are in the USA, blah, blah, blah….” All good and well, but the name given by others is all encompassing: Black History. Who and what defines black history? The contributions of African Americans cannot be discounted and deservedly needs to be celebrated, but America is a ‘young’ country in terms of global history, and the many advancements and achievements that has marked the two millennia of America while amazing is still a fraction of world history.

When talk of black history is brought up at this time of the year, I hear the names of Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and Langston Hughes. Are their contributions any more significant than the struggles and achievements of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Hannibal, Alexander Dumas or Shaka Zulu? I think not. There is no African American writer (and very few American writers of any race) who can be put in the same category as Alexander Dumas, but are students learning about him when they read his books? We hear, learn and teach about Jackie Robinson, but how about Arthur Wharton, the first black professional football player who in England during the 1890’s? That’s approximately half a century before Jackie Robinson stepped on a baseball diamond in a Dodgers uniform.

Black history is world history; the story of the human race begins in Africa and no one has an exclusive right to it. If we’re celebrating black history, we need to celebrate all of it. We need to remember those who charted the course we are on now; the ones who fought and made significant contributions across the globe. We need to not forget our history, but in 2011 we should place less emphasis on the slave-trade to civil rights period and more emphasis on the world leaders in the military, in the arts and in politics, centuries ago and today.

Or more succinctly in the words of Marcus Garvey “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

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“This is a battle of epic proportions; we’ve allowed the hijacking of the 14th Amendment.”

A cabal of Arizona lawmakers is (again) planning to rewrite the Constitution of the United States. They plan to pass legislation so that children born in the US to parents who are in the US illegally will not be granted citizenship. This to me represents another salvo in the long history of insidious prejudice by Arizona’s leaders and the people of Arizona.

Clearly hypocrisy and racism is still a major part of life in the Grand Canyon state.

Pitchers and catchers in two weeks.

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“This is a battle of epic proportions; we’ve allowed the hijacking of the 14^th Amendment.”

Senator Russell Pearce of Arizona; described as the architect of Arizona Bill SB 1070.

A cabal of Arizona lawmakers is (again) planning to rewrite the Constitution of the United States. They plan to pass legislation so that children born in the US to parents who are in the US illegally will not be granted citizenship.  This to me represents another salvo in the long history of insidious prejudice by Arizona’s leaders and the people of Arizona.

Some may say it’s nothing more than petty politicians trying to make a name for themselves by pandering to the prejudices of a small segment of the society. I say these are the politicians that the majority of the people elected and they are pushing the people’s agenda.

This is the same state, Arizona, which 30 years ago refused to honor Martin Luther King’s Day as a holiday. That position at the time was championed by none other than that self-proclaimed maverick, John McCain. He eventually reversed himself on that issue, but as the most strident (at the time) national opponent to a holiday honoring Dr. King, Arizona had clearly and unequivocally drawn a line in the sand. This is also the same state where in 2010 they proposed having police officers ask and check people’s immigration status at traffic stops. The starkly racist nature of all of these thingss are blindingly obvious, and echoes back to Jim Crow. The relationship between these things should be clear. This isn’t an anti-illegal immigration issue; this is the people of a state trying to push their own twisted agenda on the national stage. The explanations they provide behind this may sound logical and even necessary but the racist ideals and prejudicial application of this initiative cannot be denied.

However you may feel about the issue of illegal immigration, this legislation is wrong and nothing good can ever come out of it being passed into law. The reports that other states are considering adopting similar rules should sound a rallying cry to people everywhere. This legislation, in essence, boils down into one crystallizing thought the epitome of the Tea Party/Republican/Conservative agenda: America for WASPS. This is clear and unambiguous.

Also bear in mind again that this is the same place where less than two months ago a lunatic with a gun killed several people including a Congresswoman because he had a different political opinion. Some may say its unfair of me to paint such a broad brush stroke on the entire state, but the rhetoric is clear and consistent and seemingly unopposed in Arizona.

30 years ago it took systematic agitation by African-American public figures and boycott of Arizona venues by black performers (including moving the Super Bowl) for Arizona to finally recognize the holiday. I think an even greater movement will be needed to push back the agenda of this generation of publicly appointed hate-mongers.

Clearly hypocrisy and racism is still a major part of life in the Grand Canyon state.

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