Black History

These past fifty years, living conditions for black people in America have significantly improved.  We no longer expect to be excluded from participating in any endeavor because of our race.

I'll share some of the unfair though not life-endangering realities I've dealt with and think of every once in a while.

I remember when black athletes were not  permitted on teams in the national arena of baseball, football, and basketball.  After that strategic discrimination came to an end, the conversation gravitated to how long before black referees or umpires would be working the games.  It took a while.  More years lumbered along before African-American coaches and managers were considered and hired. 

I can remember when you could count, on one hand, the number of black people we could look forward to seeing on television.  Perhaps Jet Magazine's most popular feature was their list of the black artists and commentators scheduled to appear on television the next month.  When more than three or four personalities were named, it was a "did you see" reminder animately discussed where ever we gathered.  

And, I remember having to go to the back of a city bus with every other black passenger - because it was the law.  (See my award-winning memoir, Black Star Girl.)

I remember needing to determine if potential neighbors might register dramatic, even harmful objections should a black family (mine) move into their neighborhood.

             
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This years annual observance of Black History Month will end in a few days.  As always, it's a time when we as a nation can embrace the opportunity to learn about or reacquaint ourselves with the accomplishments and achievements of African-Americans.   I think it is inspiring and character building.  People suffered but those who survived were not irreparably broken under the harsh realities of simply living in this country, even after slavery ended.  Read Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.

During Black History Month, an array of programs in our communities discuss achievements that include those of black entertainers, such as Marian Anderson and Josephine Baker; business people, such as Madame C.J. Walker and John H. Johnson.  We hear about writers such as Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin; educators such as  Mary McLeod Bethune and John Hope Franklin; lawyers, such as Thurgood Marshall and Marian Wright Edelman.  

We are reminded of the dedicated and brilliant actions of Civil Rights activists such as A. Phillip Randolph, Harry Briggs, Daisy Bates, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., plus hundreds of others.  Some were famous while others may not be well-known but their names and contributions are documented in reference books and on informational websites.  Some lived to see America's laws changed, providing opportunity for justice where there had been none.  Other activists were maimed or killed by the vicious resistance of opponents of equal treatment for black people.

Thus Black History Month finds me emotional - melancholy and truly grateful for the effort and sacrifices of so many in the fight for my Civil Rights.

May it be that those coming after us will continue passing on Black History, especially to young people and to immigrants new to this country.

You can find wonderful detailed information on the internet regarding any persons mentioned in this post as well as those who are pictured below.  Great thanks to my granddaughter for her sketches of Mr. Washington, Mr. Dubois and Mr. Garvey.  

 Booker T Washington (1856-1915

Marcus Garvey (1887-1960)

W.E.B.Dubois (1868-1963

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