(ThyBlackMan.com) A tribute to our past, present and future. Here’s to the winner in all of us!
When dealing with controversial issues, we often allow our emotions to overshadow our powers of reason. Thus, the debate as to whether Black History should extend beyond its timeframe, pits innovators against traditionalists, with each side defending their position. In assessing my viewpoint, I believe Black History is more than Just a Month, It’s A Celebration.
It’s a Celebration of a noble race, running roughshod over bondage, obstacles and time eternal. Fearless, proud and infinitely hopeful, that is the essence of our heritage.
It’s a Celebration of the legacies of Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, crying out against injustice, in a country drenched with hate.
It’s a Celebration of the NAACP, National Urban League and 
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, in their crusade to alleviate the insufferable stench of racism gone awry.
It’s a Celebration of the uprisings of Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey in their ill-fated attempt at freedom. So strong were these men in their quest for freedom, they preferred death to enslavement.
It’s a Celebration of the literary genius of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Maya Angelou, asking America to honor its pledge of equality for all via the written word.
It’s a Celebration of the Revolutionists; Malcolm X, Angela Davis and the Black Panthers, telling Blacks to abandon the “wait and see” attitude and rebel against the Establishment.
It’s a Celebration of the Nobel Peace Prizes of Ralph J. Bunche and Martin Luther King; two great men dedicated to world peace.
It’s a Celebration of the brilliance of Serena Williams, taking tennis to new heights; the athletic prowess of Jesse Owens, racing across the finish line at the 1936 Olympics; And the wizardry of Michael Jordan, showing the world why he was named “the Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century.”
It’s a Celebration of the diversity of our hair; curly, natural, permed, straight, waved and weaved, and the red, beige, brown and blackness of our skin.
Finally, it’s a Celebration of Barack Obama’s ascension to the presidency. Under the cloak of lynching, Jim Crow, and every crime imaginable, we watched as the world continued to deny us our Constitutional rights. Then the unbelievable happened, when a man of African descent, became the 44th President of a country that never wanted or accepted us.
That is why we celebrate. To tell our own story in our own words. In debating whether Black History should be celebrated throughout the year, it’s good to focus on the achievements of famous dignitaries past and present. But what about pioneers at the local level, those men and women who paved the way, so that future generations could enjoy the amenities entitled to all people?
Their contributions should not be confined to moldy, photo albums and faded newspaper clippings. They too helped to establish the democracy of our history and deserve to be enshrined in the scripted walls of the immortals. In retrospect, African-Americans have made contributions big and small, to the archives that personify Black History. And that is why it should be celebrated, every day of the year.
Staff Writer; Peggy S. Butler
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