Alva James-Johnson: Black History Month is still important

Black History Month is here again, and with it comes an annual question. Is it really necessary, or just a token observance for revisionists' sake?

Just this week a black high school student told me how a white classmate reacted when a teacher announced a Black History activity. The white student scoffed and said Black History Month was her least favorite national observance. When the black student looked in disbelief, the white student said she was just repeating what her father said.

Eighty-nine years have passed since Carter G. Woodson started "Negro History Week," which eventually evolved into the month-long marathon we practice today. Yet we have a long way to go.

So let's start with what Black History Month is and why it exists in the first place.

Black History Month is observed every year to acknowledge significant people and events in the history of the African Diaspora. Not only is it observed in the United States, but also in Canada and the United Kingdom.

When Woodson began the tradition in 1926, blacks were barely mentioned in history books. The only historical episode they were associated with was slavery and its dehumanizing effects. But scholars like Woodson found a treasure trove of information, which led to a thriving field of study.

Today, we have celebrated historians such as Lerone Bennett Jr. He's the author of a groundbreaking book, "Before the Mayflower," which chronicles the history of black people from ancient Egypt to 20th century America. And there are many other scholars doing their part to document the history, including Columbus' very own Johnnie C. Warner Jr., founder and director of the Columbus Black History Museum.

Over the years, I have been blown away by just how much black history exists beyond Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. What has been even more fascinating is the breadth of the history, not only on these shores, but also across the Caribbean, as well as South America, Europe and other continents.

I learned, for example, that the first black individual to arrive in what would become the United States was a Spanish conquistador named Juan Garrido, who joined Juan Ponce de Leon, the founder of Florida, on his quest for the Fountain of Youth. The first casualty of the American Revolution was Crispus Attucks, a black man killed in the Boston Massacre. And the founder of Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a black fur trader whose birthplace is believed to be Haiti.

Black History Month is about taking off our blinders and looking at all of human history over the centuries, not just the parts we want to see.

People of African descent are a significant part of that story and deserve a place in the history books.

That's why Black History Month is so important -- even now.

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Alva James-Johnson: Black History Month is still important."