While February is commemorated as Black History Month, some people see it as a reminder to celebrate black history throughout the year.
A period to recognize black history started in 1926 and originally only lasted a week, according to asalh.org, the association that founded Black History Month. By the end of the 1960s, the week had turned into a month and the nature of the celebration had also changed.
Interdisciplinary studies junior D’Irikc Trotter said for him, Black History Month is twelve months of the year. Trotter’s major is studying African American culture.
“During the month of February, the most well-known people, like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, they get talked about,” he said. “But there a whole lot of people who haven’t gotten their due and I think regardless of the month, you should respect the other people and talk about them too.”
Trotter said he thought Black History Month is supposed to be about educating people on the topic, but often the same topics are discussed again and again. He said more black history should be integrated into school curriculums starting in elementary school.
“The same information gets spread over and over again and no one ever gets a deeper look,” he said. “It’s really sad, but Arizona was the last state to even recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday, so I’m not too surprised black history isn’t mentioned as much as it should be.”
African and African-American Studies assistant professor Alyssa Robillard said growing up in Louisiana, there was a more dedicated celebration of Black History Month, but she was also taught that it should be celebrated all year round.
“I was taught that month was really a formal acknowledgement of black history, and that’s nice,” she said. “But it would be nicer if the acknowledgement was all year long.”
Robillard said she would like to see more things on television that highlight African-Americans who have made significant contributions and more discussions in the different levels of school.
Communications senior Brandon Reed agreed that Black History Month should be recognized more throughout the year, but he also thinks the month of February is an important step for that to happen.
“As a member of the race, I carry the culture and history everywhere I go and in that sense, it’s a year-long appreciation of black history,” he said. “But Black History Month spreads awareness and it reminds us that if it wasn’t for the black struggle, we would not have half the rights that we have now.”
Reed said he tries to educate his friends and himself by putting the name of someone who made a contribution in his Facebook status. He said he thinks February is not only about black history, but really the history of all minorities.
“Black history highlights the plight of almost any minority group,” he said. “It shows this is what happened, it was bad and if we want to make it better, we better spread the knowledge.”
Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu
