If you can’t zoom in and read the article you can see it Here(p.21).

I’m not one to jump to conclusions, so of course I read the entire article before making my mind about how I feel about it. Just so many quotes stand out to me, while reading, it made me want to laugh. Anyway I will break down my feelings about the piece by highlighting quotes. I would love to have a discussion about the article without ignorant comments.

“In Our long history, many groups of people who immigrated to the United States were discriminated against: the Jews, the Russians, and many others were at some point victims of poor treatment.”

Why is the author comparing people that immigrated here to people that were brought here forcefully? Does she realize that being Russian is a nationality, being Jewish is a religion and being Black is race? There can be Black people that are Russian and Jewish. I see her comparing different things as a major flaw in her argument from the jump. The author can argue that, its then in fact, African American History month. With that said, you still wouldn’t  compare a religion to a nationality. I also wouldn’t compare a foreign nationality to one that’s the home country. Can you see an American history month in Russia ever existing?

I don’t understand her trying to compare the struggles of Blacks forced to move here to work, with people who CHOSE to move to America? I would think anything is better than being a slave. But lets not even compare struggles, the author seems to believe Blacks only get this month because of poor treatment. She doesn’t consider the month’s purpose is to highlight how Blacks played an integral part in the rise of America. She acts like its was just a pity month due to poor treatment.

I find it funny that for the black examples of accomplishments, she does mention Martin Luther King, but then says George Washington Carver gave us peanut butter. It comes off as she is belittling his contributions. You can tell the author has no idea what George Washington Carver did during his lifetime. She only mentions he brought us peanut butter, when the man did so much more and even was honored by the President of the United States with a monument for his accomplishments. Would the President dedicate a monument to a man that just created peanut butter?

I bring this up, because when she gives examples of the accomplishments for other “cultures,” she makes sure to bring up advanced scientific accomplishments. She goes from a non detailed, “gave us peanut butter,” to a precise, “neurological publications,” and, “creation of  the heart defibrillator.” The author purposely compares  the finding of peanut butter to medical accomplishments in attempt to downplay the accomplishments of African Americans.

She then says, none of these cultures receive acknowledgment from today’s media. So I assume she is now saying being Jewish, being Russian and being Black are all cultures. Again, the author seems to have no idea how to distinguish between the three and calls all of them, “cultures.” I’m sure Russians and Jewish people have made contributions to America, but were they a vital part to building America? I can’t see the contributions of Russians or Irish people to come to close to what Blacks have contributed in the construction of America. Why would a country feel they need to highlight the works of people from a foreign country? The author looks at African Americans in the same boat as Russians. They came under different circumstances, its not the same at all.

The author then goes on to list various accomplishments from different people. She has examples for, “The Irish,” and  Hispanics. Again, a nationality mixed with a race. She has the audacity to complain that Christopher Columbus only gets a day for discovering America. Anybody out of grade school should know the real story about Columbus. Columbus was not a hero in any way and shouldn’t even have a holiday in the first place. 

In essence, it would seem that Black History Month makes it clear that you are more deserving of recognition because you are Black, and not because you are brilliant. Thus, this month of celebration prohibits the achievements of equality by letting our greatest successes as a people divide us along racial lines.

 I really don’t see why the author looks at Black History Month that way. She makes it seem, like for that month, its against the law to recognize another race, or one of the, “cultures,” she refers too. I don’t see people celebrating Black History Month by saying there are better than other races, or there accomplishments or greater. The author really believes that celebrating African American History, “prohibits,” equality. Is this month is so powerful, that it is stops equality from being possible? I don’t fully understand what the author is really thinking. “By letting out greatest successes as a people divides us along racial lines,” I don’t get this line at all.

“With the creation of an entire month to highlight one ethnicity..”

African Americans are then called an, “ethnicity.” The author can’t make her mind up on what to call African Americans, a culture, a race or an ethnicity.

Fighting racism with race-based methods is to fight fire with gasoline.

I feel the author just wanted to use the cliche of fighting fire. African American  History month is about education. I don’t consider education is neither fire or gasoline in accordance to racism. Education is used to deter racism and ignorance. How can one believe that learning about great accomplishments be so negative. Can the author tell us how this month so negatively affects her life? Explain to me how this infamous, Black History Month, holds back all other races, cultures and ethnicities.

The author then goes on to post a picture and information about an Irish American, and states if he had emigrated from Sudan high school students would be learning of his brilliance. Wow, does the author honestly believe high school kids across the country learn about all the African American accomplishments? Some schools don’t even have any African American history in their curriculum. The author  makes it obvious she has never took the time to learn about African American history and prefers to be against it because other races or nationalities have one. Its like a little kid crying over a another kid having a lollipop when they have a stash of candy at home. In history class all we learn about is White Americans, so I don’t know who would justify a White History month. If the author wants an Irish history month, then she should go ahead and try to make it happen instead of knocking Black History Month. What it all comes down to is the author looking at African Americans as immigrants from Africa, that should be treated the same as other immigrants, despite that little thing called slavery. I would just love for the author to show how this evil thing called, “Black History Month,” preserves inequalities. There are so many things in this world prohibiting inequality, its a shame some one would focus on Black History Month as one of them.