Why We Need Black History Month

As I recently made a deposit at my local bank branch, inside a supermarket, the five high schoolers who accompanied me stood a few feet away at the magazine rack.

The four black young men and one Latina laughed as they flipped the pages of many different magazines. When I completed my business, we all left. Once outside, the four young men complained that the store security guard, a Latino, stared at them the entire time they were in the store. They felt like he expected them to steal something. They were mad, frustrated and hurt.

The Latina was also disturbed. “I saw him staring at us,” she said. “He stood right there and didn’t take his eyes off the guys.”

As I listened to the young men vent their frustration, I prayed that they wouldn’t lose hope in their future as American citizens. Why care about a country where people look at you and assume you are a criminal?

It was also frustrating that the security guard suspected these guys, of all people. Each of these vibrant African American teens has committed himself, publicly, to his education, personal responsibility and doing what is right. Each is vocal about his Christian faith and morals. Each strives to make friends with people of other races.

The eldest, a senior, is currently fund-raising for a June missionary trip to Armenia. Another is applying for an internship at a Latino-controlled radio station in Washington state. The third is applying to Azusa Pacific University, a local Christian college. The fourth just raised his grade point average to nearly 3.0 after bombing his entire ninth-grade year.

Every black person I know can tell stories of being followed, of negative assumptions being made about them because of the color of their skin. My experience in the black community has taught me that blacks from every walk of life endure this treatment on a regular basis, regardless of class.

The fact that blacks remain perpetual suspects in our society argues for some action that fights this type of discrimination. Yet, at this very moment, it seems that Americans are backing away from tangible solutions to discrimination.

Black History Month is commemorated in February, but many Americans ignore it as something just for blacks. Some even argue that it foments racial turmoil. If Black History Month is not part of the solution, then what is?

What we have now--a month dedicated to the study of black history--is an excellent start. I wish there was no need for a month to be set aside. A prominent black leader said the same to me this week. But until a full version of history, giving blacks their proper due, is taught in our schools and media, there will be a need for Black History Month.

“That security guard is stupid!” one of the guys in my car said laughing as we drove away from the supermarket. This teen’s response encouraged me. The others, however, didn’t shrug it off as easily.