Illaria Dana

Education Major

Black History Month was originally a week in February. It was created by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The 90 years of observance have shifted to include some modern figures, but this shift has been slow.

The posters of Harriet Tubman and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be dusted off, and for one month, schools in the United States will focus on black history. This is a bleak, and partially untrue, appraisal of the state of Black History in the United States. These women were courageous, but their stories are often recognized while others are forgotten and ignored.

It’s true that some secondary schools require a course in black history as a graduation requirement. When this subject is not required, some parents and community organizations race up to supplement the gaps in their children’s learning. But, by and large, the contributions of people of color are largely ignored in educational systems. What is ignored in our schools is lost culturally and must strive for recognition in other domains. The validity of the lives and the history of people of color is placed on the cultural backburner. The lives and struggles that provided a vital wealth of resources, without which, we may not be a nation at all, are lost.

There needs to be a conversation about slavery. Approximately 10.7 million people of color were “imported”, like goods, unlike people with hopes and dreams and lives, into the United States. This nation created was created not on freedom but on the free labor and enslavement of these people. Let’s talk about a nation that was so divided about whether people of color were really and truly humans that it had to go to war against itself. Slavery was abolished when the 13th amendment was passed on January 31, 1865 and ratified on December 31, 1865. This left a cultural vacuum, and white supremacy continued to reign.

Let’s talk about Brown v. Board, 1954, which took 89 years after Emancipation to state that, “Segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprives children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal.” Let’s listen to people of color about how their treatment in the United States is still affected by separation and inequality. Let’s listen to stories of successes and find ways to get out the way of competent, talented individuals.

On Wednesday, January 27, SPACE Gallery in Portland showed the film More than a Month. The film chronicles the introspective and political journey of Shukree Hassan Tilghman. Tilghman is a 29 year old African-American filmmaker. The son of activists, Tilghman sets out to end Black History Month. He stands, wearing a sandwich board that provocatively reads, “END BLACK HISTORY MONTH,” and asks for signatures for his petition. Throughout the film Tilghman explains that Black History is inseparable from American history. Any attempt to separate the two is a disservice to all citizens and marginalizes the lives of people of color.

After the film a conversation was held by the NAACP Portland Branch King Fellows, “a youth-lead group dedicated to advancing racial and social justice in Maine”. The students facilitated the conversation with a string of questions. Their last question was, “For audience members who are not people of color, did the film help you recognize your privilege of being able to learn about your history?”

In More than a Month, Tilghman visits with the Sons of Confederate Veterans who want to have a month to celebrate confederate history. This visit is filled with irony, however, it consolidates the importance of history for Tilghman. He says, “History is about power, the power to control the story, even for a brief period of time. And a history month is a way to do that.” He hopes that Black History Month will grow into what it should be: an essential, permanent facet of the studies of American history.

When asked the question of privilege by the King Fellows, it was impossible not to answer “yes”. Privilege is comprised of many aspects that are unnoticed by those who have privilege until they are pointed out by people who have been oppressed. Conversations like these are essential to the health of all people and the creation of a society that benefits and reflects the voices of people of color. It is essential to listen, to hear, and to modify one’s beliefs in the face of evidence that shows the truly remarkable achievements of people that are otherwise ignored.

In order to come to terms with the historical atrocities and murders that were committed in the United States by our ancestors, in order to focus on the accomplishments of people of color today, we must acknowledge how our society was constructed by these atrocities and murders. We must make space for this history to be taught in our schools in all seasons. We must become willing to listen.

If you are interested in some events that are coming up this month that center on the current climate of race relations in the United States, including the manifestation of racism in the modern world, the struggles of people of color for equality, and the processes of refugees and asylees as they seek physical safety in the U.S.

The Portland Public Library will be hosting an event called Seeking Refuge: Understanding the Refugee and Asylum Process, on Tuesday, February 9, from 5:30p.m. to 7:00p.m. On Thursday, February 11, the film What’s Love got to do With It will be shown from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. in the Rines Auditorium. On Thursday, February 18 from 6:30p.m. to 8:15p.m., the film When We Were Kings will be shown in the Rines Auditorium. This documentary chronicles the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire.  

The Maine Historical Society has an exhibition called “400 Hundred Years of New Mainers” is open for the month. The exhibition, “highlights personal stories of immigration through photographer Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest’s contemporary portraits of ‘New Mainers’ and original works by street artist Pigeon displayed among items from MHS’s permanent collection.”

These events are ways of gaining information in the cultural arena about Black History, modern struggles, and immigration. These domains are not interchangeable and should not be considered so. What they have in common is that they have been, and continue to be, largely in the dominant society’s schools and consciousness.

This month is an opportunity to gain more information and reflect about what one can do to be an ally and to listen to people with valuable voices. SMCC students and faculty are currently trying to organize an event on Campus. If you have suggestions or want to express your experience, please contact The Beacon.