Will Black History Month Be History?
If Barack Obama wins the race for the presidency, what will it mean for race in this country? Will America have to put aside all of the unreasonable opinions and prejudices and out-and-out racist ideas and start to view itself as finally united? Will we begin to view each other individually-not as black people and white people but as Americans?
I've seen a lot of comments on these pages from some very hateful and some confused people who accuse blacks of being racist because there is a Black History Month or a Miss Black America pageant or even an AOL Black Voices.
Well, there was a need for Black History Month because the contributions of blacks in history were relegated primarily to slavery and Civil Rights. There was Frederick Douglas and Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., but all of the inventions and industries created and built on the backs of and by blacks in this country have been mostly ignored.
So Black History Month started as a week to remind blacks and America that we did some things-like invent the traffic light, the filament that made the light bulb possible, the mailbox, the original golf tee, discovered blood plasma, discovered three hundred uses of the peanut.
That's why we have Black History Month, so as to borrow a phrase, we never forget.
But will a President Barack Obama eliminate the need? Will black contributions find their way into the history annals of America?
Do we still need a Miss Black America? Well, for too many years the standard of beauty has been that of white skin, straight hair and keen features. But that has changed dramatically. In fact, Tyra Banks, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, and Queen Latifah are considered American beauties, and there have been several black Miss Americas. It might be time to put that one out to pasture.
And what about Black Voices?
Well, turn on your television. How many blacks host a news talk show on a major cable or network station? I'll help you out: None. DL Hughley doesn't count, believe me! How many black voices on mainstream media outlets (outside of The View and Oprah, which are considered more entertainment than news and journalism. They will also allow blacks to entertain).
How many major newspapers and news magazines are run or shaped by someone other than a white person? How many blacks in decision-making positions to greenlight projects? If you do the research, you'll know why Black Voices was necessary.
The question moving forward is does Barack Obama as president change things does his presidency eliminate the need for holidays, outlets and organizations like the NAACP and the Urban League, that are just for blacks?
While his presidency will certainly go a long way toward the way blacks (and all Americans) will be viewed, it will not change the hearts and minds of those ignorant among us who will judge a person based on stereotypes and the color of his or her skin.
That 250,000 showed up to hear him speak in Germany (not exactly a country with a history for accepting ethnic differences) shows that Obama has somehow transcended the previous limitations of his race.
He is the manifestation of the American dream-raised by a single mom, with humble means, worked hard to finish at the top of his class, ran a successful national campaign to finally hold the greatest office in the land.
His victory will say to all Americans, no matter their race, creed, or color, that anything is possible.
Obama is special, but he's no exception to a rule. His success should not be viewed as an anomaly. Ken Chenault, Dick Parsons, and others sat at the helm of major mainstream companies like Time Warner and American Express. They were never "black" CEOs, no more than Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a "black" astroner, head of the hayden Planetarium, nor is Ben Carson a "black" pediatric neurosurgeon who happens to be the best in the world.
If elected, Barack Obama will be simply President Barack Obama
