We should all celebrate Black History Month

Imagine a Western Civilization textbook without chapters on ancient Egypt or the Roman Empire. Imagine a World History reading list that included no books on China. We’d be quick to say that a significant portion of the record of mankind’s development was left out, and that that omission leaves a gap in our understanding of our world and ourselves.

Until 1915, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson started what is now known as the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, our nation’s narrative was written, taught and learned largely by and about white America. Woodson, the son of former slaves who rose from Kentucky coal mines to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, saw the dearth of information on the contributions of blacks to American education, the arts and sciences, the political debate, battlefield heroism and the even longer struggle for free and equal access to the bounty of America’s democracy. From Black History Week in February 1926 to the entire month, proclaimed by President Ford 50 years later, February — selected because it’s the month in which Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglas were born — has been designated as a time to emphasize black history, culture and accomplishment.

While Black History Month — whose theme this year is Black Women in American Culture and History — has always been a time for African-Americans to give witness to their achievements, salute their heroes and commemorate their historical fight for civil rights, it is also a time for Americans of all races to share in the celebration and appreciate the struggle, which has made the nation a better place to live. From the joyous to the tragic, from the melodies of worship to the agonies of violent discrimination, from soul food to sports legends, from slavery to the White House, the story of blacks in America is part of our nation’s mosaic, and worthy of our attention.

There are seminars, religious services, exhibits and events this month all over Nassau County that can help all of us, regardless of age, race or ethnic heritage, learn more about America. Here are some of them.