Shawn Fredericks
This month is the 42nd national observance of Black History Month, and the second during Trump’s America. Under this administration, Black History Month is needed today more than it ever was.
It should be noted, however, that black history should be celebrated all year. It gets made every day, like when Charlotte recently elected its first black female mayor Vi Lyles, or most recently in Pennsylvania where Hanif Johnson became the youngest black district court judge at age 27.
There are many stories like this happening every day, which is why America needs this month to give a much-needed spotlight to the history of black people. What I want people to do is to take this month to get educated on the black perspective and keep that level of engagement for the rest of the year.
That said, there is something missing about Black History Month — something very valuable that few acknowledge, even African-Americans.
Black History Month was created by Carter G. Woodson, who thought that African-Americans and people of African descent were underrepresented in the canon of history.
This idea can still be seen in the organization Woodson founded — the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Their mission is to, “promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community.”
They seek to, in their words, “continue [Woodson’s] legacy of speaking a fundamental truth to the world — that Africans and peoples of African descent are makers of history and co-workers in what W. E. B. Du Bois called, ‘The Kingdom of Culture.’”
That last part of the African diaspora is what’s missing in the observance of Black History Month. That is, what’s missing is Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism, for those unaware, is a movement that promotes the solidarity of people of African descent throughout the world.
Black History Month often gets treated as African-American History Month, which is not bad, but is still lacking the greater context of black people’s place in the canon of world history. Often, the African-American experience captures the imagination of people. In layperson’s terms, when you think of a “black” person you often imagine them in an African-American context.
That type of thinking, while innocent in nature, does a disservice to and completely washes away the global characteristic of blackness. More simply said, blackness is global; however, it is not being recognized as such.
Blackness as a global element can be seen recently with our dear president Donald J. Trump’s “s—hole countries” comments. Shameful comments yes, but it is a reminder that blackness goes beyond national identity. This is especially seen in the black caucus response in wearing kente cloth to the president’s state of the union.
This is not the only example. The Black Lives Matter movement is a global movement, but you would not know that by the type of coverage the movement gets from the media. The movement has touched the image around the world; it is a rallying call in France, Australia, Africa and the entire world.
The Black Lives Matter movement is not the first time that black movements have spread overseas. There is a global context for the civil rights movement, such as with Malcolm X calling for the movement to expand to human rights after traveling abroad connecting with leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah.
There is also a global aspect of the black power movement, more specifically the Black Panthers, whose leaders often went overseas to Asian countries. Additionally it must be said that global anti-black discrimination does not get enough attention because our western-oriented media does not do enough to spotlight the global essence of blackness.
In the age of Trump, which has seen populistic alt-right movements spring up around the world, there is a greater need for attention towards Pan-Africanism, especially during Black History Month. Black History Month, like Women’s History Month, should have an international or more appropriately global recognition and observance.
Black people share a common destiny, and it is about time that the globe recognizes that. In fact, the movement can start at the university level — yes, even here at NC State. Let us not forget the way that schools and universities played a huge role in getting national observance of Black History Month. Now we can do something much more: obtain global recognition and observance of Black History Month.
People who are wishing to further their exposure to Pan-Africanism or the experiences of African-Americans and the people of the African diaspora can attend programs put on by the African American Cultural Center. There is also the African American Cultural Center library on the second floor of Witherspoon Student Center, adjacent to the African American Cultural Center gallery.
Additionally, Multicultural Student Affairs is providing programming for Black History Month; I encourage everyone to attend as many of these events as you can to expose yourself to and broaden your understanding of black culture.