Black History Month thoughts...

I always enjoy Black History month in that I usually learn something I didnt know before, like learning that the first open heart surgery was performed by a black man. But I think i saw a quote that pretty much sums up how I feel about the idea,in general... "Don't get me wrong: Black History Month has value. White kids learn that black folks invented stoplights and peanut butter, and if it weren't for those token tidbits of information, the young honkems wouldn't respect any nonmusical, non-athletic Negroes at all. Sadly, they don't learn much about African Americans the rest of the school year. Public school curricula are slow to integrate history lessons because blacks don't insist upon it: instead we settle for one month, the shortest month of the year, to espouse tales of a gloried past." ... now, I for one am proud of my heritage, although I am not the type to go around throwing it in everyones face. I feel that my children should be/will be taught that aspect of their past, but that all aspects of black history need to be honored, not just the Hallmark drivel thrown out there... Just as important, my children will know their history in general, not just the black thing. Oh, and the gentlemen (jimi izrael) i was reading closed with another paragraph that I totally agreed with....I agree that it's important to honor great men, but the Starbucks promotion and the hundreds of others like it are something less than honorable and delineate what the MLK holiday and Black History Month have both become: a bait-and-switch to create one feel-good moment, in hopes that you will forgive and forget the rest. America takes a day off, totally absolved and refreshed, and nothing changes. They get a vacation day and you get another dream deferred, murdered by assailants unknown, for you to mourn and benevolently forgive. For me, Dr. King was real , a man more like me than not. He told dirty jokes at inappropriate times: he was a drinker and womanizer — me too. He was imperfect, but rose above his imperfection to become a measure for lesser people. He didn't put his life on the line for the T-shirts, the parades or the "I Have a Dream" sound-bite used to sell soda, feminine hygiene products, hamburgers and airline tickets. Black Americans have gotten caught up in the pageantry of Black History Month, of Martin Luther King Day, and the myth of Rosa Parks without realizing an obligation to live the legacy. Black History Month has been cross-marketed and copyrighted to the point where pretty soon you'll be able to buy a McMartin burger with Malcolm X-tra cheese. I have little time for it, because every day at my home is Black History Month. Every family dinner is an opportunity to teach....

That is my little ramble for this morning.