Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

February 01, 2006

Celebrating Black History Month with Mean Ol' Meany

My friend Two Dogs over at Mean Ol' Meany celebrates his one year blogiversary today (congratulations!), and has an interesting post on Black History Month that is sure to get someone's knickers in a twist. Here's just a sampling:

Let's think about this a bit. Doesn't it make sense to study Dr. King's work alongside the study of the Vietnam War? Doesn't it make sense to handle the studies about slavery alongside the founding of this country, the Revolutionary War, the writing of the Constitution, and the Civil War? Doesn't it make sense to study the first black Supreme Court Justice at the same time as you study exactly how stupid the welfare programs of Lyndon Johnson were? And doesn't it make sense to look into the Tuskegee Airmen at the same time that you are studying D-Day?

If you remove these events from history's time line and push them into one month of study, you disrupt the flow of history in its context. Kids will never know that the Montgomery Bus Boycott happened when we were at war with Korea. They will never understand that it took thirteen long years from the point of the Emancipation Proclamation until a Black man could vote. They will not understand that even though Black men were given the right to vote by the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, Black women were still not given that right until the same time that White women were allowed to vote. (it was called Women's Suffrage and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, in case you were wondering).

He makes a lot of sense. However, I am sure that some readers out there will be quick to say he's a racist and should be burned at the stake (especially after reading his opening). I understand that black history, such as it is, was either ignored or glossed over for a long time -- too long. However, in rectifying it, have we gone too far in the other direction? Aren't we all Americans, no matter what our color?

As a special treat, Two Dogs has reworked all 12 months of the year to reflect the history of special interest minority groups.

So head on over. If you are easily offended, fair warning. However, under much of the sarcasm and humor is common sense...which is what I love about Two Dogs.