@Jaden2@mstdn.social I go back and forth on this.
YES! Black history *is* American history, and American history is Black history. No doubt about that! Anybody teaching a history course should look long and hard to include Black people if possible, since they've been whitewashed out of most places they belong.
So in that sense, we should all be exposed to Black history as often as we're exposed to any history at all, which is very often for students, and not often enough for adults living their post-school lives.
But I sometimes think of it like birthdays. You're a person every day. You reflect the hopes and dreams of the people around you, and the love and care of your family and friends 24/7/365, right? You life matters *every* day, not just one day. But still, one day out of each year, it's worth taking stock of the passage of time. It's worth celebrating your life in a special way, with cake! Which doesn't mean your life doesn't matter the other 364 days of the year.
So all of American history is Black history. But I think it's still good to take one month out of twelve to remind people that Black lives have ALWAYS mattered, and that we wouldn't be where we are today without the contributions of Black people to this country, and we'd be in a better place if we'd not spent so much effort trying to keep Black people down.
Does that make sense?
All months should include Black history, but also, Black History Month is a Good Thing™.
