Street Art Mafia

bethlehems:

patrickjoust:

“We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.”

- Dr. Carter G. Woodson

This mural with Dr. Woodson’s likeness and quote is in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C.

Woodson said these words in reference to the creation of “Negro History Week,” which would later become “Black History Month.” I’ve always liked these words and I really admire the efforts of Woodson. I think one thing that is really missing a lot today, when we focus on African Americans and their contributions to American society, is the sense of how our collective history has been shaped by African Americans in general. I think the intent of Black History Month was to spotlight African Americans in history, but it has often unintentionally become a special and separate time when African American History is emphasized even while it is neglected at other times of the year. It is too often given a token and routine treatment rather than the serious attention it deserves.

This article by Earl Ofari Hutchinson points out that the whole purpose of Black History Month was to share an important part of history, which had previously been ignored… an important part, not just for African Americans, but for all Americans, including white guys like me.

African American history should not be studied within a vacuum, cut off from everything else. We should instead learn to realize the importance of this history for all, regardless of our race or background. This doesn’t mean that we don’t need Black History Month, we need it as much now as ever. What we need to do is make sure we don’t get lazy and forget that this history needs to be part of the entire grand narrative of our history, not just a little sidebar. It is the grand narrative of our history and we all miss out when we lose sight of that.

So anyway, I know it’s not February and I guess that’s sort of the point. I took this photo a couple years ago and just found it in my files and I thought I would share it.