Many ethnicities have celebratory months
“Why is Black History Month the only month dedicated to an
ethnicity?” (“Speaks out,” Feb. 1) Simply by
checking your American history you would have discovered that
February is not the only month dedicated to honoring the history
and contributions of a particular ethnic group in this country.
Black History Month was established by an act of Congress, much
like Women’s History Month and Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month. That means elected officials (those folks American
citizens elect to run the country) passed legislation to have such
months of recognition, so that the contributions made by these
groups are not overlooked or taken for granted by mainstream
society.
The establishment of Black History Month encouraged other ethnic
groups and women to lobby for months recognizing their cultural
heritage and contributions to this country. At such an ethnically
diverse campus, have you never heard of Hispanic Heritage Month
(September 15 through October 15), American Indian Heritage Month
(November) and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May)?
Therein lies another contribution of black Americans ““
often and throughout American history, other groups are inspired by
and adopt the successful strategies of African American protest
groups to further their own causes and to gain civil rights in this
country.
Oh, and happy Black History Month!
Birgitta Johnson Graduate student,
ethnomusicology