Every February, Black History Month is celebrated as a time to recognize the contributions, struggles and achievements of Black Americans. While you might be distracted by discounted Valentine’s Day candy and tending to Valentine’s roses, you must remember the true meaning of this month.
As Dr. Kovats-Bernat, director of Africana Studies here at Wilkes, emphasizes, it is “an essential opportunity to honor the contributions, struggles and achievements of Black Americans-not as a footnote to history, but as central to the American story.”
Black History Month began in 1926 as a week-long celebration to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, according to the National Park Service. Douglass and Lincoln had impactful contributions in the fight for African American rights.
However, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a prominent African American historian and educator, shaped what Black History Month is today. He worked towards equal education and aided in founding the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Woodson established “Negro History Week” during the second week of February and worked diligently to preserve and establish that Black history holds their rightful and important place in American culture.
At Wilkes, Erica Acosta, Director of Diversity Initiatives, spoke about what is important about celebrating Black History Month. She stated, “Black History matters now more than ever.” She explained that “we are responsible for preserving the impact of our ancestors and recognizing the contributions we still make today,” and spoke about the importance of “our voices deserve to be heard, and our history deserves to be remembered.”
Acosta explained that the preservation of African American History is part of celebrating Black History Month, but that we must also remember this month is in honor of every modern achievement and every one that will follow today.
Here at Wilkes, Dr. Kovats-Bernat discussed how “at a predominantly white institution, this month takes on particular significance.” The Wilkes professor explained how this month “is a chance for us to examine how we create space for Black voices, experiences and scholarship in our classrooms, residence halls and campus organizations.”
Through our education, Dr. Kovats-Bernat raised concerns about including African American voices in our curriculum. He brought up awareness about the amount of African American authors placed in a syllabus, and even showed concern for “whose perspectives shape our understanding of history, literature, science and the arts? Are Black students finding genuine community and support here, or merely inclusion in name?”
He strongly urged that diversity is not only about inclusion, but incorporation. Incorporating all races, voices and minorities into education, which will translate into our everyday lives.
To elaborate even farther on incorporating inclusion, Dr. Kovats-Bernat explained that “it’s about whose knowledge we value, whose stories we tell, and who feels they truly belong.
Black History Month is an opportunity to examine the systems and structures that shape our campus community, from hiring practices to curriculum design, from student life programming to the informal networks that determine who has access to mentorship and opportunity.” He concluded that the work put into celebrating, honoring and working towards during Black History Month should not be “confined to one month, but woven into the fabric of our daily educational experience.”
Around our campus, our students, faculty and staff are doing exactly that: making African American voices be heard. In the Farley Library, there is a Black History Month display featuring African American authors.
On February 19, the Multicultural Student Coalition hosted an all-Black-Owned Business Pop-Up Shop from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Henry Student Center. Associate professor of history and Africana Studies at Gettysburg College, Dr. Scott Hancock, will be speaking on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6:00 p.m. in the Jean and Paul Adams Commons. All events that will honor what this month is truly about, the past, present and future histories of African American people all over the world.