Black History Month is a time that Black culture is taught and celebrated throughout the United States. The initial idea for a time to specifically observe the contributions of African Americans was proposed by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as he launched the February observance of Negro History Week. In 1976 the observance was expanded to Black History Month and was made official nationally by President Gerald Ford who believed that it was necessary to celebrate the achievements of black Americans whose efforts on behalf of the country were often neglected.

 
Black culture extends far beyond what many Americans believe to be the start of black history in America, namely the ugly blot of slavery. Black History Month allows all to share their individual stories and experiences and can relate them to the experiences their ancestors went through. The observance has helped to reshape the narrative of blacks in America.

 
As February has become a time to reflect on the struggles and accomplishments that African-Americans have overcome, it has created a growing appreciation for the culture. Knowing more of our collective history benefits everyone’s common knowledge. It teaches us of the shackling struggles America has undergone in the past and hopefully helps prevent a similar future. Historic figures in the black community like Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, are role models for all Americans and examples of ways change can come out of peace. They have provided stepping stools to the next generation and they have handed over the tools to make stronger generations who could make change themselves.

 
There are those that disagree with a month of celebration for acknowledging any specific culture. Some like confused actress Stacey Dash of the movie “Clueless” fame, claim that Black History Month is counterproductive and should be ended. However, black history month is the designated time of the year that the roots of the African American experience rise from the buried soil. These experiences have been distorted and muted for many centuries and deserved to be known. The goal of the month is to uplift a race not to put down other races.

 
Why isn’t there a white history month? White history has been celebrated as the only American history for hundreds of years and is celebrated every day throughout the year in schools throughout the country. White culture is celebrated daily from actresses and actors that dominate award shows to the cover of magazines to what’s in a textbook. In schools, children are taught that George Washington was the father of our country, while leaving out the fact that many of this country’s forefathers and framers of the Constitution were slave owners. Students are taught American history from the European American point of view. Black history month simply provides another perspective, while helping to dispose of stereotypes at the same time.

 
America is greatest when all of its citizens are made to feel that their part of the American story is important to the whole American story.