February is Black History Month. A couple of community figures share their thoughts on reevaluating how the month is celebrated.
The singing of Negro Spirituals recently echoed off the walls of DeKalb’s First United Methodist Church.
Angela Baron-Jeffrey read a part of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”
“…and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is over. We mean business now and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God’s world.”
The music and speakers were part of the Beloved Community’s Martin Luther King Jr.’s remembrance held in January.
Baron-Jeffrey is the director of Northern Illinois University's Center for Child Welfare and Education. She said black history is bigger than the month of February.
“If we really wanted to do justice to that; that it would be history that includes what black contributions have been throughout. And if we were actually doing that -- we would not have a black history month,” she said.
The celebration was originally known as Negro History Week. This week was started by historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland. It evolved into a monthly celebration in the 1960s. President Gerald Ford recognized it nationally in 1976.
Baron-Jeffrey said there’s a message behind Black History Month being in February.
“I think to relegate introducing black history to people in the shortest month of the year is to continue to marginalize black history and black contributions.”
Joe Mitchell is the pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb. He says every month is Black History Month.
“Black history is American history. And we’ve contributed so much to American history that you can’t bottle it up in a month,” he said.
Mitchell said he doesn’t know if Black History Month is what it used to be.
“It depends on what people do and how people decide people to embrace it,” he said. "What they allow that time of celebration remembrance to be.”
Mitchell said people should focus on something else.
“I think it’s more important that we remember what our ancestors have done, know that we’re standing on their shoulders and we continue to do better based on the path that they have laid for us,” he said.
Baron-Jeffrey said it’s also problematic when educators aren’t properly equipped for bringing this history to the classroom.
“People are not taught black history while they're studying in college nor are they required to do continuing education credits for that,” she said. "And so how do you expect them to rightly teach what they really haven’t learned?”
Baron-Jeffrey said she knows there are educators who recognize the need to teach black history. She said many have to do their own research.
“But I believe that we really do need to rethink this whole concept of segregating history,” she said.