BET was owned by ONE GUY, and he SOLD the channel to Viacom. He would've sold it to anyone who paid the most amount of money. It was HIS channel, not blacks across america.
And every month there is a holiday in america that is for ALL americans. Not just whites, or any particular group. That's why they are NATIONAL holidays.
I'm glad that there is a black history month, because in reality, it's very hard to find enough black history in the school textbooks. American education is, in a way, letting its people down by not including enough of the richness of black contributions to that great nation.
I disagree. Every child I speak to knows who MLK was, but they couldn't tell me the man responsible for emancipating him- the 16th president of the USA. They do not celebrate the B-days of two of our most important historical figures anymore. They were done away with. MLK's b-day is a national holiday however. This is lunacy, but oh well. Washington and Lincoln are now almost forgotten. Presidents day could celebrate Clinton as far as I know. I just asked my niece this very question 3 days ago. She had no idea about those presidents. I almost collapsed. She is 10!! She told me that they do not teach them these subjects in school. She told me all about MLK and Rosa Parks however. Black history is important but not at the expense of our founding fathers. I feel that events, TV stations and competitions that include only one race does nothing but fuel feeling of seperation, and segregation. This does not advance anything!! I don't see this done by the white race. Can you imagine the backlash? Hypocritical if you ask me.
I'm not sure I agree totally. I understand what you mean about not forgetting about the founding fathers, and I agree with it. Black History Month is supposed to be about a celebration of the achievements of black people. It's a recognition of black heritage, which we've had to rebuild since having our heritage and identities taken away from us a long time ago. Black History month isn't about segregation, it's about forging a future. It's about rebuilding a new heritage to replace the one that we were disjointed from.
If the information was included in schools, then there would be no need for a Black History month. If we could recall more names than just the big four: MLK, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey and Louis Farrakhan, then there'd be no need.
What's weird is, even in Canada, I always knew more about America than I did about Canadian history. I had to intentionally seek out information on the Prime Ministers of Canada, which was considerably more difficult than it was to get a list of all the Presidents of America. Canada has some boot straps to pull up too.
devildog said this in post #15 : Good thing we don't have a white history month, Miss white USA or have a white entertainment television network.
quote:
devildog said this in post #18 : I feel that events, TV stations and competitions that include only one race does nothing but fuel feeling of seperation, and segregation. This does not advance anything!! I don't see this done by the white race. Can you imagine the backlash? Hypocritical if you ask me.
I consider your statements to be rather ignorant. For someone to have spent the good half of a post talking about people not knowing history and then turn around slagging on BET and black history month, I think you should really take a look at history.
BET...Black History Month...Miss Black America...Historically Black Colleges and Universities (KEYWORD: Historically)...these institutions, events, networks, etc., they were created as a response to racism, so to call them hypocritical makes no sense.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were a response to racism because blacks were refused the chance to pursue post-secondary education. You will find many of these schools in the south, particularly because Jim Crow was all the rage back then. They carry the term historically because they are not all black institutions now and now anyone can apply there, it's just due to tradition that their populations remain well over 90% black. Are the existence of these institutions racist? No, as they are a response to racism.
Black History Month, an outgrowth of Negro History Week, was created because blacks were erased from history books. That's why people like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman even became well known in history books. The continuation of Black History Month has a lot to do with tradition and is a commemoration of culture in American society. Black History Month is more specifically about Black Americans, who unlike other ethnic groups have no other factors to describe them but race. The western region of Africa is wide and the exact tribes are unknown, so they are called black. Black History Month is no different than the other Heritage months that are held throughout the year. There is no need for a White History Month because there are already months that highlight the different ethnic groups of Europe, like Irish-American Heritage for example. The term African-American (notice it is the only ethnic group defined by continent) came into the lexicon much later, so Black is still a term that is not completely replaced. Nonetheless, it is a term that defines a skin color, but in terms of Black History Month, it is focused on blacks in America for the most part, which would be closer to an ethnic group.
Miss Black America is another response to racism. Blacks used to be barred from the competition. Later they were allowed in, but the tradition of the competition continues. Miss Black America is no different than any other ethnic group competitions like the Miss Italian-American Pageant. These competitions aren't racist because there is nothing wrong with ethnic pride. Blacks in America tend to go with racial pride as their true ethnicity was lost to the slave trade. Nevertheless, this is another item that people want to charge as being racist when it really is a response to racism.
And then of course BET, another response to racism. MTV wouldn't play music videos with blacks in them, BET was a result. I could continue with the usual explanation, but you get the picture.
Calling something racist after the fact makes no sense and tends to be a poor strategy I see used against blacks in an effort to take the focus off the racism that still exists today in this country. The idea seems to be to push the idea that we're ALL racists, thus no one is racists. That couldn't be further from the truth. Calling the existence of most any black organization, event, or function racist isn't a legitamite statement if you look at history. History is more than names and dates; understanding history will help in understanding the present and how to proceed in the future.
But the next thing I want to key on is the racism of your post, whether intentional or unintentional, it kind of sticks out. In you bemoaning the fact that your niece didn't know who Washington and Lincoln were, you seemed more angry with the fact that she is knowledgeable about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, then you are with her lack of historical knowledge. Knowing history should never be a problem no matter what the information is. I would be mad if my niece didn't know who all those people were and not one group over another.
I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it's as if you see President's Week in February and it is overshadowed by Black History Month so you are displeased. But like I said, your post seems to be misdirected in anger. You should be more concerned about knowing history and I'd like to give you a bit more history.
Negro History Week, created by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, was created so that it would coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two figures he saw as critically influential to Blacks in America. So the very foundation of the month you seem to criticize is based on something you want taught, education about American history. And not many people even know that fact and I wish more did know. The more history you know, the better, and it shouldn't be a thing of either-or because that in itself is racist.
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
- Bill Cosby
The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.
- Gordon Parks
I'm black. OK, only kidding, but how would you know that? It makes your label of me interesting doesn't it?
No, I didn't know that Woodson created Negro History Week to coincide with those B-days. That is kind of the point.
I find it a little funny how quick people are to use the term racist today. People are unwilling to listen to the truth or the feelings of some and reverse the heat instead. This is the genesis of political correctness. All I said is that the removal of our friggin history is stupid. Do you want to disagree?
And BTW, many white people do not even think about racism until they see stuff like I mentioned earlier. You need to understand that. Racist people keep racism alive today, if you ask me. We simply d o n t ca r e i f y o u a r e b la c k. The latest example is that Bush doesn't care about black people. Why is race injected into everything? Who injects it. Just move on please. If there was a white Jesse Jackson, he would complain at the percentages of white Basketball players. I hope you get my point. It isn't articulated very well here, but I have to go now.
In a 9 year interracial marriage in case you were interested . You are soo up the wrong tree.
The ignorance being express shows why BUSH gets away with everthing.
09-10-2005 08:31 PM
. You are soo up the wrong tree.
