AN OLD WHITE GUY CONSIDERS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

 

Frederick Douglass, Circa 1879

                                                                  

Black History Month highlights an opportunity to discover more of the actual history of how people of color have been treated in the U.S.A. The stories of enslaved people, indigenous Americans, indentured servants and  immigrants are only recently getting told widely. My own view is that more and more people have researched original documents, family stories, and oral history so that 21st Century Americans (if we choose to) can discover  the whole story of our Nation's history. The facts have always been there; the difference is that the facts are now being told in detail more and more by those descended from people of color.

For many years, school history books focused on the aspirational nature of the American experience as first  expressed in the founding documents.  By definition, this  gave  an overview without the detail needed to listen and learn about the lived experience of people on the margins of society. Thankfully, this practice is changing from the platitudes I learned in high school. A closer look at how the United States carried out the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights reveals a series of hopes and dreams both achieved and deferred. Perspective and context  determines the direction of the  arc of history for people in this country.                         

The sad stories and hard lives of  marginalized folks have been obscured, causing  widespread misunderstanding. What’s especially been missing from the common understanding of history has been any serious review of the myriad intentional policies, laws, cultural discrimination and economic policies that shut many Americans out of full participation in the benefits of society politically and economically. The resulting ignorance of most Americans  has infected public policy for  years. As a result, the U.S. has  experienced  huge disparities in opportunity, wealth, home ownership, health outcomes, longevity, and social capital across generations.

The unfettered truth can be interesting and enlightening to those of us seeking to understand the deep divisions in our culture and society.  Facing  the pain and suffering of those who were once enslaved can be a liberating exercise. One important action we can take is to educate ourselves about history; to take a deeper look at stories, culture, and systems about people on the margins in America. This can be done by searching out and reading books and articles by Black authors and journalists, by visiting historic places and museums chronicling the Black experience in America, and by taking time to listen to those voices speaking out today in journalism, literature and the arts.

Facts matter.  Ignoring the facts and details about our history has caused repeated failure to address the disparities endemic to the American political and economic system.           

Despite these serious difficulties, I'm hopeful that the  "Beloved Community" that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned can be realized.  It will take constant effort.  

My own readings and explorations in recent years have caused me to believe that we  white Americans should take the time to learn about and confront  the sad realities of systematic, deliberate efforts to divide people since Europeans first arrived to colonize this land 400+ years ago.  Sugarcoating this history has only served to maintain division, bigotry, hatred and white supremacy. It is true that I cannot change that history, however I can learn about it and I can work to undo the disparities it has caused up to the present day in February, 2023.

Honest reckoning with our past can lead to reconciliation, healing, justice, and the dream Dr. King had for this nation.