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Not just 28 days, Black History is more than just a month of achievement

Written by Andrew Plock, The Shorthorn staff

Monday, 08 February 2010 10:22 PM

W. Marvin Dulaney said the reason he chose to dedicate his life to studying African-American history was the same as the creation of Black History Month, insufficient information about blacks in America’s past.

“In the early 20th century there was no inclusion of African-American’s in academia,” the history associate professor said. “The thought was that African-American history had nothing to teach or played no part besides slavery and apartheid.”

Author Carter G. Woodson stated the importance of remembering our past in The Journal of Negro History.

“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated,” he said.

The month of February now represents Woodson’s movement with Black History Month, which started as Negro History Week, as an opportunity to represent the achievements of blacks from the past to the present day and implement them into our nation’s history.

When it comes to Black History Month, UTA has its own historical growth to look upon. The school, formally named Arlington State College, went through big changes through the peak of the 1960s civil rights era.

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“I’ve been hoping that it will become so much a part of history that there is no need to have to teach it. It’s a catch 22. On one hand we need to get rid of Black History Month, but since we’re not there yet, we need it to raise consciousness.”

W. Marvin Dulaney,
History associate professor

Integrated in 1962, the school held a Southern moniker of “Rebels” along with the Confederate flag as the unofficial school flag by students.

It wasn’t until 1971 when UTA President Frank Harrison asked students to rethink the mascot and adopt a new one.

In between this era of change, UTA saw its first black graduate, Maxwell Scarlett, graduate in 1966 with a bachelor’s of science in biology.

In 1926, when Negro History Week began, Dulaney said it was to start a year-long study into black history that would ultimately be adapted into society so that the histories of America could be joined together as a whole and not compartmentalize Black History Month into a time frame.

“I’ve been hoping that it will become so much a part of history that there is no need to have to teach it,” Dulaney said. “It’s a catch 22. On one hand we need to get rid of Black History Month, but since we’re not there yet, we need it to raise consciousness.”

Everick Henderson, public communications and psychology sophomore, said he doesn’t give too much acknowledgment to the month for the same reason.

“There are 28 days in February,” Henderson said. “What about the other 337? We shouldn’t just wait to the month of February.”

Henderson is also a spoken-word artist under the name “Soule” and said he wants to see young blacks represent their history by moving forward, especially when it comes to understanding their past and progressing.

“A lot of African-Americans are enslaving themselves by not taking advantage of the opportunities made by the people that sacrificed for us,” he said.

From the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. to Malcolm X, history graduate student Grady Hill said this is a time to celebrate achievements. But he wants to use this time to acknowledge the problems in the black community, he said.

“We’ve limited Black History Month to just celebrating,” he said. “But it should be seen as a way to tackle problems.”

He said progression is not emphasized enough.

“With net worth, our education rates, more children born in single-parent homes, unemployment rates – it’s something we need to be talking about,” he said.

United for a Fair Economy, a non-profit organization, released a study this year in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Day about the deficit of net worth and unemployment rates in blacks and minorities.

The report, “State of the Dream 2010: Drained,” shows that the unemployment rate among blacks grew by 4.3 percent from December 2009 to December 2010 and now stands at 16.2 percent, higher than any annual rate in the past 27 years.

While the current state of blacks are presently in thought, Dulaney said Black History Month still shouldn’t be the reason people address problems. Like black history, they still occur year round.

“There was a point where 40 years ago it could cost you your life to vote,” Dulaney said. “Now look at how much change has been made in 40 years.”

He said the world could change if everyone was more proactive.

“It’s the desire to do it, rather than going with the way things are,” he said.

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