Black History & Religion
History is the study of the human past. The past has left many traditions, folk tales, and works of art, archaeological objects, and books and written records of our accomplishments. Historians have been recording the events of history since the Phoenicians in Africa invented the first alphabet.
For instance, until the advent of Black History Month, our school children learned all of their black history when they studied the plight of slavery in the south prior to the Civil War. Very little truth was, and still is contained in our children’s textbooks about the depth of slavery’s pain in America. So it was not a bad idea to set aside one month out of the year to concentrate on setting the record straight. Until the advent of Black History Month, the only information received about men and women of color by most white children living in the sheltered communities of the Midwest were the snippets of truth about slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Now, no matter where you live in America, in the month of February, the airwaves and satellite dishes are flooded with commercials about Black History that goes far beyond slavery and Civil Rights.
It is about time we taught our own Black children that there is more to our history than our ancestral enslavement.
1 Black children today are shocked to hear that Henry Ford bought the concept plans for the first automobile from a Black man.
2 They’re just as shocked to hear that Blacks are credited with inventing the mousetrap, the umbrella, and the ironing board.
3 They swell with pride when they hear that a Black man performed the first open heart surgery.
4 And, I love to watch their amazement when they find out that highly developed Black empires existed in many parts of Africa, hundreds and even thousands of years ago, way before the onslaught of slavery exploitation in the late 1500’s.
True, it’s important to know something about our history. Your history helps to define who you are as a people. Did you know
For instance, until the advent of Black History Month, our school children learned all of their black history when they studied the plight of slavery in the south prior to the Civil War. Very little truth was, and still is contained in our children’s textbooks about the depth of slavery’s pain in America. So it was not a bad idea to set aside one month out of the year to concentrate on setting the record straight. Until the advent of Black History Month, the only information received about men and women of color by most white children living in the sheltered communities of the Midwest were the snippets of truth about slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Now, no matter where you live in America, in the month of February, the airwaves and satellite dishes are flooded with commercials about Black History that goes far beyond slavery and Civil Rights.
It is about time we taught our own Black children that there is more to our history than our ancestral enslavement.
1 Black children today are shocked to hear that Henry Ford bought the concept plans for the first automobile from a Black man.
2 They’re just as shocked to hear that Blacks are credited with inventing the mousetrap, the umbrella, and the ironing board.
3 They swell with pride when they hear that a Black man performed the first open heart surgery.
4 And, I love to watch their amazement when they find out that highly developed Black empires existed in many parts of Africa, hundreds and even thousands of years ago, way before the onslaught of slavery exploitation in the late 1500’s.
True, it’s important to know something about our history. Your history helps to define who you are as a people. Did you know