Black History Month: Is a racist celebration?

The black historian Carter G. Woodson founded “Negro week” in 1926, seeking to build self-worth in an oppressed people but hoping that in some point the celebration it would be unnecessary because black history it would be embrace like a common history. He chose February because it contains the birthday of two important abolitionist: Frederick Douglas and President Abraham Lincoln. In 1976 the Woodson’s organization expanded the event to a full month.

In the schools black inventors and pioneers are show and  in TV there's a huge commercialism during the month. In the case of scholars, teachers try to explain them about the importance of Afro American figures in the history of America but what I found surprising was the fact that if Americans believe that this figures were actually important to the country for their different contributions they should be entered into the mainstream of the rest of the curriculum. Some questions come to my mind after reading this: Why relegate their contributions and stories into one single month and not all the year? Or if there is a Black history month in February, White people embrace their race all year long?

In my opinion Black History month should be a celebration all year long and should be think like American history not a segregated history. The intention of this celebration was to raise awareness and appreciation of afro American people but reduce to just one single month and only talk about Benjamin Banneker or Ella Baker in February left the feeling that the segregation isn’t finish yet. I think that the contributions should be teach in every context of the curriculum. I like to add a quote I found interesting about this topic from the newspaper The Guardian: “It is helpful for children to learn about history in a segregated way? 

Reactions to the Black History Month:

What do you think of Black History Month? Do you think is racist?