“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration from which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” -Carter G. Woodson
We cannot talk about Black History without talking about Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Not only was he an author and historian, but he is the Father of Black History. He is, in part, the reason that African-American History is known, as well as a subject to begin with. It is because of his interest in our history and his belief that it needed to be taught that we have a month celebrating our history, our culture, as well as our resilience. Initially, it was Black History Week, created in 1926 by Woodson and celebrated the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Over time, 50 years later to be exact, it was extended to Black History Month and became a nationally recognized celebration.
This information is inspiring, but what does this mean for our generation? Besides the importance of us, as Black youth, to know our history and those who contributed, what can we take away from this knowledge?
Ultimately, we can mirror their spirit and their perseverance. We don’t have all of the same fights as them. However, racism is an insidious injustice, in our nation especially – always has and always will be, but there are other fights we don’t have to fight because of our ancestors. For example, we have access to education, to pretty much any public space without the threat of not being let in because of segregation. That was done because of the people that came before us.
Dr. Woodson, Dr. King, Malcolm X, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks. They all paved a way for us in their respective fields, taking the unprecedented road and in most cases, the forbidden road for the liberation of us, and in hopes that we might pick up the baton where they left it and run the next leg of the race.
Dr. Woodson saw a need and planted a seed. That seed was watered, sprouted and now, that seed must bear an offspring. It is a glorious thing to reflect on our history, as well as the inherent challenges and endurance that were necessary to accomplish great feats. But what we cannot do is become so enthralled with history, in that resilience and progress, that we miss our mark and our moment to contribute. We cannot delude ourselves into thinking that our work is done. Celebrating our history is not an issue, but we must balance that with continuing the work of our forefathers. We can be proud of the efforts and accolades of those before us, but we must give our descendants something they can be proud of, somewhere to pick up the baton. We cannot afford to remain comfortable anymore. After all, complacency kills.
