Black History Month 2010

Image by T U R K A I R O via FlickrSo it is the month of February, the shortest, coldest and some say the most depressing month of the year. Well at least up here in Canada. Anyway, February has been designated as Black History month or African Heritage Month in some circles. I like the latter because I feel that the word heritage allows people to connect the culture they currently practice to their African lineage. Many of us born in the west can't associate with African cultures anymore. It also negates the argument that there is no such thing as Black History. To add to that many Blacks have become so genetically “washed-out" that they don’t even identify with being Black anymore but that’s a different story.

We have probably become the most fragmented race on the planet. Islanders fight against other islanders, African countries fight against each other and, even separations along religious lines are tearing countries apart. American Blacks can't associate with Blacks on the continent and even worse is the animosity between light skin and dark skin. I associate all these problems with a basic lack of knowledge. That is why a designated month of reflection is important for those of us who are Black to take stock and for those who are not to recognize our contributions to society.

Black History month was founded in 1926 by United States historian Carter G. Woodson as "Negro History Week". Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglas. The tradition has grown and expanded to other countries including England and Canada.

While BHM is widely celebrated by many it has unfortunately met opposition among some Black who say African history is world history, we don’t need a month segregated from the rest. I say it is needed for the simple fact that Blacks have been explorers, scholars and conquerors throughout history yet many people do not know since most Black history has been omitted from mainstream historical records. I hear people even stating that Blacks have contributed nothing of worth to note.

Patents don’t lie and while most patents do not mean that the holder was the first to invent a device it recognizes a significant improvement to the idea that existed before. Black inventors have obtained many patents of note including improvements to the traffic light, the blood bank, and gas masks to name a few.


Last week I attended the official launch of Black History Month in the City of Ottawa at the Library & Archives of Canada. It was a tight well orchestrated two hour event attended by the Mayor and a few other dignitaries which included representatives from many of the various consulates in the Black Diaspora. It featured performances by local poets and musicians along with the presentation of achievement awards to outstanding members of the community. I was happy to be in attendance.

My heritage goes back to the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean. I identify myself as Black and my lineage is African. I do have some English heritage however as part of the remnants of slavery going back five or six generations. When the first European explorers stumbled upon the island in 1492 there were inhabitants already there. These people were of Native American lineage called Arawaks. Their generosity in welcoming the Europeans was reciprocated with colonization.

Most of the natives were turned into servants and slaves or died from European diseases while those who resisted were either killed or fled the island. Over time the Europeans brought slaves which they either captured or bought from Africa to replenish the dwindling native population. They were used in full force to grow and maintain the local agriculture that fueled a booming European economy. There were many bloody slave revolts on the island. Many slaves escaped the plantations and found refuge in the forests and mountains of Jamaica, some with the help of the Arawak Indians.

Many escaped slaves were later re-captured and taken to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1796, and later exiled from there to Freetown, Sierra Leone in West Africa. The remainders of these escaped slaves maintain a proud heritage up until this day and are known as Maroons.

Slavery in Jamaica was abolished in the mid 1800’s but the island remained a British colony until the early 1960’s when it finally gained its independence. Today Jamaica is still not a republic but remains a part of the British commonwealth  with the queen of England as its head of state.

The knowledge of African Heritage is important to blacks in many ways. In an era of continuous change where people are migrating and adapting cultures to assimilate; it is imperative to be grounded by the knowledge of ones self. As a tree cannot exist without roots one cannot properly determine ones direction unless he/she knows where he/she is coming from.