Black history has become groundhog’s day
Same month, different year, similar faces appear
By Latoya Williams
Every year when Black History Month approaches, classrooms, social media, auditoriums and TV screens fill with the same familiar faces: Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks. I’m not saying that what these legends contributed to the combat of injustice isn’t worthy of constant recognition, however there are more great battles fought and won by other considerable figures.
Somewhere along the way, Black history month fell into a time loop. The same figures are the only ones that receive recognition, as if they are the only ones that fought and matter. As if there weren’t supporting figures
equally important to the struggle.
For example, we all know Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, but did you know she wasn’t the first one? Nine months prior to Ms. Parks’ incident, there was a young girl at the age of 15, from Montgomery, Alabama.
Claudette Colvin did it first on March 2, 1955. Colvin refused to give up her seat, saying she paid her fare and it was her constitutional right, but was then arrested by two police officers. Colvin later became the main witness in the federal lawsuit Browder v. Gayle, which ended segregation on public transportation in Alabama.
What about Clarence Jones, who dedicated more than 60 years after working with King on the “I have a dream” speech as a speechwriter? At the height of the civil rights movement he was a lawyer and political advisor that continues to honor his friend’s legacy of leadership in the fight against discrimination.
Why does no one talk about Daisey Bates? She’s best known for escorting and advocating for the Little Rock Nine. The nine were the black students that attempted to desegregate an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Daisey and the nine are still being honored on the third Monday of February by the state of Arkansas.
Black history is not just a handful of story collections, it is an anthology that cannot be rewritten to please the part of this country that only wants what’s safe. We are talking about thousands of people who fought and died for the greater good. Not just for Black people, but the greater good of all. Who gets to decide what figures should be highlighted?
Black history is too vast. It didn’t happen overnight and it definitely needs more than 28 days to reflect on. We owe it not just to ourselves, but to the future generation, to tell the whole story of how we got to this point. We owe it to the children yet to come into this world to speak about the unspeakable, because it happened.
When we limit who we talk about, we limit the contributions made by the countless people who have for too long remained nameless. Here’s what I propose: that we as students do our due diligence and every day for the month of February find someone new to learn about and share with someone else.