February is Black History Month.
This is a pretty well known fact, as we have been reminded about it every February since kindergarten. But what are the other months for?
I did a little research and apparently, other months have "history" too.
I found it strange that some months, were not recognized as anything, like April, while other months, like May, had more than one "History" to be acknowledged. What does that say about our values as a nation? Are some issues less important that they can share a month with another issue?
Black History Month was a definite necessity, but today, should it still be a primary focus, or should the nation focus on a topic like Gay and Lesbian Awareness Month?
An blog post from the Chicago Tribune News Blog, opened discussion on this very issue, and had many interesting responses.
Personally, I think that Black History Month is important, but all the other "months" deserve equal recognition. If we are trying to create a perfect world in which everyone is equal, one type of history cannot take precedent over another, they must all be focused on equally and draw similar attention.
Dani-
ReplyDeleteI guess this isn't in the same category as Black History Month because it doesn't recognize a people group, but April happens to be National Poetry Month. Hopefully Doc Oc will help us to "celebrate" in class a bit if we are not too bogged down by *Junior Theme* -yikes! Anyway, I too noticed that there are some other months with a special recognition, and that some of them host multiple observances at once. National Hispanic Heritage Month, for example, is from September 15-October 15, which coincides with October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer Awareness is a huge issue in our country and an important issue in general, but I think it kind of upstages National Hispanic Heritage Month. I also agree with you that we should have a Gay and Lesbian Awareness Month. The LGBT community is one of the most prominent groups in current events today, and if there was a group that could use an awarness month right now, it would definitely be this one. Acceptance of LGBT people is not an option of political opinion, and a Gay and Lesbian Awareness Month could definitely help spread acceptance.
Dani and Madelyn,
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I agree, the nation could benefit from increasing about GLBT issues, as there is still a lot of ignorance on the topic. I think that "Older Americans" month is a little iffy, as there is not definition of "older" and the fact that almost every American is one day "older." Could there be a "Science" or "English" History month (Like Poetry month!) and not create these racial divides? I don't know about you all, but I think that Black History Month is a little counter productive this day in age.
I would love to hear your feedback on my Black History Month post, as well! Please check it out at http://americanstudies89.blogspot.com/2011/02/february.html
Thanks!