Twenty-eight days is not enough to appreciate the historical black contributions

Since 1976, the month of February has been recognized as Black History Month in the U.S. With this, a celebration of the most well-known accomplishments of black Americans takes place.

Stories of how Martin Luther King, Jr. nonviolently protested are told for the umpteenth time, along with being reminded of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat, Madame CJ Walker’s hair care revolution and rise to billionaire status and in the future, our children will hear about Barack Obama endlessly during February.

While we’re proud of the work done by these figures, the 28 days which are annually given to the celebration of black struggle and success is not nearly enough to encompass all that we’ve contributed to society.

In history classes, we are often taught how black people were slaves. But we barely learn about blacks like Lewis Latimer who invented the carbon filament for the light bulb. We are taught that Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb, but no one knows that Latimer is the one who made it possible for the bulb to be featured in households.

Not only is the 28 days too few to illustrate how much more difficult life would be without the accomplishment of American black people (things such as supercharge system for internal combustion engines, elevator and traffic signal), it leaves absolutely no room for the accomplishments and historical landmarks of black people worldwide.

An international school such as FIU has a duty to its students to provide information about the scope of work performed and revolutionized by black people on a global scale. After Hispanic students, black or African American students are the highest enrolled group at the University.

The celebrations, discussions and workshops that take place all center on the black American, forgetting the Afro-Latinx students, the black Caribbean, the black students from the Middle East and black students from anywhere else in the world.

Our university is unique in that is houses a plethora of students from each corner of the globe. It promises to be World’s Ahead, yet falls short of the promise by not acknowledging the black experience that differs from that of an African American.

While we do have experiences that span each culture, being that colorism and anti-blackness is a global issue, the history varies from place to place.

It would be beneficial to open the University community to the contributions that come from black people across the globe, in order to truly be a part of the global community.

 

Image retrieved from Flickr.

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