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Sounds great in theory, but in practice the folks being "honored" in US History classes are largely white people.
Because white men are the vast majority of leaders/inventors in western culture.
When you study Mesopotamia in school, we don't focus the accomplisents of a minority in that region which are dwarfed by the accomplishments of the majority.
If we are studying US history we should be focusing on those who have had the greatest impact on said history. Paying attention to someone because they invented peanut butter or a traffic light because of race is silly when you glossing over the people who invented the suspension bridge, refrigerator, mill, lathe, morse code, combine harvester, circuit breaker, induction motor, transistor, ball point pen or the phonograph. All these inventions/discoveries changed the world much more so than peanut butter or a traffic light, but no one would knows who did these things because they are not black.
Because white men are the vast majority of leaders/inventors in western culture.
When you study Mesopotamia in school, we don't focus the accomplisents of a minority in that region which are dwarfed by the accomplishments of the majority.
If we are studying US history we should be focusing on those who have had the greatest impact on said history. Paying attention to someone because they invented peanut butter or a traffic light because of race is silly when you glossing over the people who invented the suspension bridge, refrigerator, mill, lathe, morse code, combine harvester, circuit breaker, induction motor, transistor, ball point pen or the phonograph. All these inventions/discoveries changed the world much more so than peanut butter or a traffic light, but no one would knows who did these things because they are not black.
Let the accomplishments stand on their own.
Well, when you oppress a race of people for hundreds of years, and steal their ideas for your own, that is what the history books say. Doesn't mean it's true, though. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that a LOT of inventions were the ideas of black people who were never given credit. One example: Vivien Thomas.
Well, when you oppress a race of people for hundreds of years, and steal their ideas for your own, that is what the history books say. Doesn't mean it's true, though. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that a LOT of inventions were the ideas of black people who were never given credit. One example: Vivien Thomas.
Well its 2014 , where are all the genius black people ? Get over the whole oppression era man and live in the moment , you might actually be happier
Name these products. Why is it important that they were invented ny black people?[/quote]
It is important because many black youth don't think that black people contributed anything to society. So it lets them know that we have a storied history as inventors and business people.
A couple things off the top of my head:
The traffic light - invented by Garret Morgan - he invented A LOT of things
The light bulb filament - invented by Louis Lattimer - Thomas Edison's bulb would not have worked without Lattimer's contribution
Peanut Butter - George Washington Carver - he found a lot of uses for peanuts and was a renowned scientist
Henry Blair - invented the spark plug
There are a lot of newer inventions also from black people but those from the past especially get lost in translation. Most people don't know much about black inventors.
In regards to the OP - I do still think Black History Month is needed. I agree in that black history is American history but too much focus of our country's history is not about all Americans and is only about white Americans.
I agree with ChocLot as well that too much focus on Black History Month is always focused on the same old same old black figures. Though I appreciate their contributions, I would love it if schools and programs would focus more on little known black history. I was happy that my daughter's school was doing something recently about Garret Morgan and the traffic light. I found out that he was from the same town as my great grandfather!! As a genealogist, that was exciting to me. Morgan also made his adult home in Ohio and I am from Ohio. Luckily already knew this about him but he is the 2nd famous black Ohioan that I know of who is from (or has family from) the same area as my great grandfather. Paul Laurence Dunbar is another. It would be great if he were talked about more in black history month, especially as it relates to education. Dunbar went to high school with the Wright Brothers but was denied many job opportunities as young man due to being black and I think it is important to inform children, especially black children about all the opportunities we now have versus talented black youth in the past and to be grateful for it and take advantage of it.
Only one of those is a household product, and carver didn't invent peanut butter.
Well, when you oppress a race of people for hundreds of years, and steal their ideas for your own, that is what the history books say. Doesn't mean it's true, though. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that a LOT of inventions were the ideas of black people who were never given credit. One example: Vivien Thomas.
Of course that happened from time to time, with the biggest ripoffs being in the music industry, but it does not change the point. Let the accomplishments stand on their own, Fredrick Douglas, MLK, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, and Nat Turner to just name a few. The accomplishments of these men and women should be studied and celebrated year round, not overshadowed and put into the "black history month" box next the the inventor of peanut butter.
Of course that happened from time to time, with the biggest ripoffs being in the music industry, but it does not change the point. Let the accomplishments stand on their own, Fredrick Douglas, MLK, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, and Nat Turner to just name a few. The accomplishments of these men and women should be studied and celebrated year round, not overshadowed and put into the "black history month" box next the the inventor of peanut butter.
You do realize that a lot of this doesn't get covered in many schools? Hence, Black History month is to try to focus on remedying that.
When you have schools in Texas trying to rewrite history books to say slavery didn't exist, I think we have problems.
Only one of those is a household product, and carver didn't invent peanut butter.
That isn't the point. Most household inventions were invented by blacks, because they worked in the house as slaves, then indentured servants. I don't have to spoonfeed you the facts because you won't read them either way.
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