Editorial

We need Black History Month now more than ever

Posted

We were supposed to have been healed by now, right? With the first African-American president finally elected not once but twice, the nation was supposed to be in a “post-racial” era.

But it isn’t, is it?

Our social and political divisions seem as wide as they were in earlier eras, when racism was rampant, leaving us to wonder whether America will ever achieve the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a country in which little black children will hold hands with little white children and play side by side, unconcerned about race.

Lately, white nationalism appears to be on the rise, no doubt a reaction, at least in part, to Barack Obama’s presidency. That has left many people of color worried, even frightened.

February is a good time to take a step back from the corrosive rhetoric and reflect. This month –– Black History Month –– is intended to be a time of healing.

Black History Month honors the contributions that African-Americans have made to the United States — and, yes, black people have made enormous contributions to this great nation. Yet too often their sacrifices and achievements are downplayed in a country that has, from the beginning, been dominated by the white majority culture. That is why we must designate a month to recognize African-American history.

Black History Month began as Negro History Week, which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, an African-American historian, scholar, educator and publisher. It became a month-long celebration in 1976. February was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. But this month is significant in the history of black America beyond the birthdays of two truly great men, because it has several more important dates:

Feb. 23, 1868:
W.E.B. DuBois, civil rights leader and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was born.

Feb. 3, 1870:
The 15th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, granting voting rights to African-Americans.

Feb. 25, 1870:
The first black U.S. senator, Hiram R. Revels (1822-1901), took the oath of office.

Feb. 12, 1909:
The NAACP was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.

Feb. 1, 1960:
A group of black college students in Greensboro, N.C., sat down at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter, helping to usher in the civil rights movement.

There are a variety of places and events across Long Island at which visitors can learn about black culture and the struggles that African-Americans have faced for centuries.

African-American Museum
The African-American Museum and Center for Applied Art of Nassau County is full of educational resources to help people engage in African-American history and culture. Founded in 1970, it features a series of rotating exhibits that showcase locally and nationally recognized black artists.

The museum is at 110 N. Franklin St. in Hempstead. Hours are Tuesday to Friday, noon to 8 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday hours are by appointment. Admission is $3. Call (516) 572-0730 for more information.

Town celebration
The Town of Hempstead will host an African-American History Month celebration on Feb. 7, at 3 p.m., in the Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion at Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington St. in Hempstead. The program will include remarks by a keynote speaker, music and award presentations. It is free and open to the public. Call (516) 489-5000 for more information.

Hofstra Museum
The Hofstra University Museum is hosting an exhibit, “Danny Lyon: Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement,” through April 13. Lyons began his career as the first staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a national group of college students who came together in 1960 after the Woolworth’s sit-in.

The exhibit can be found in the Emily Lowe Gallery, behind Lowe Hall, on Hofstra’s south campus, off Hempstead Turnpike. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Call (516) 463-5672 for more.