Happy Black History Month to all.
Black history is American history and as the nation celebrates her 250th birthday in just a few months, it is important for us to take stock of all of the ways Black people have contributed to the physical, intellectual, technological, and cultural foundation of this nation. I think about what this country would look like and what it would have been able to contribute to the world had it not been for Black people.
So many of the contributions of Black men and women have been deliberately erased from history books and classrooms under this presidential administration. Plaques commemorating the contributions of Black people are being taken down in cities all across the country. Museums, cultural markers, national parks, libraries, and classrooms are quietly erasing the contributions of Black and non-white people under the current presidential regime. It is a deliberate attempt to raise future generations with a false foundation that only white people contributed to the building of the nation. We know that is patently false, but as more of these stories and pictures and summaries of Black contributions are taken down, it is incumbent on us to educate ourselves, family members, and especially young people about the true history of Black contributions to American democracy and the nation more broadly.
If you are ever in Baltimore, you must visit the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum. So many great museums across the country tell the story of Black contributions and heroes, but none do so with wax figures to make history come alive. There are so many museums that use the stories and histories of Black people to help educate young people, Black and non-Black, foreign visitors, and so many more about the beauty and resilience of Black people in this country.
Black History Month for me is also a time to think of the diasporic relationships we have with our Caribbean and African brothers and sisters who have persevered in their various homelands and colonial subjugations. It is important for us to remember our collective and shared struggles as we attempt to build coalitions and continue to fight racism and oppression collectively, at home and abroad.
We are in a time of rampant anti-Black racism – a time when it is shocking to some to see how blatant discrimination and racism and xenophobia have become. This current administration is tapping into some of the worst instincts of American exclusion while simultaneously endangering communities large and small. This Black History Month, we must look to the lessons and leaders of the past to help us chart a path forward. We must find strength in the struggles of the past to find confidence for the fights ahead.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.