Should Black History Month Be Cause for Celebration?
February means Black History Month. For some—an occasion for celebration; for others—cause for dismay. For all, February gives rise to a (short) month-long recognition of the achievements of African-Americans.
Black History Month began 32 years ago as an expansion of Negro History Week, established fifty years prior by Carter G. Woodson. Building on the efforts of others, Woodson conceived of the event as a national celebration, seeking to appeal to whites and blacks and to improve race relations. At first, the Week was celebrated almost exclusively by African Americans; however, by the time of Woodson’s death in 1950, it had become a well-established cultural institution. When the 1960s Black Power Movement took hold, many African-Americans began to complain that a weeklong celebration was insufficient. In 1976, the week became a month, marking the 50th annual celebration and America’s bicentennial.
Woodson, creator of Negro History Month, hoped that the week would eventually be eliminated, when African-American history would be fully integrated with American history. Like him, given our mission of encouraging and celebrating diversity in a purposefully multicultural camp environment, we at Camp Kupugani also hope that—perhaps as our campers grow to be counselors and then parents of their own camp children—maybe someday it will become unnecessary… Until then, things like the fact that we are the sole black-owned private residential camp in the country, continue to be a story.