Black History Month:Is It Relevant?

Published on 29th February 2008

In an interview on a US based television newsmagazine 60 Minutes, academy award-winning actor Morgan Freeman once called the concept of Black History Month 'ridiculous' and argued that Black history can not be relegated to a month.

It is true that black people have a history that goes far beyond their long sojourn in America. A careful study of ancient history shows that ancient Egypt boasted of a great learning center in Alexandria, where the Greeks gained their knowledge of philosophy, architecture, astronomy, science and mathematics from the Black man. In Mali (West Africa), at the great learning center of Timbuktu, Europeans drew from Africa’s wealth of wisdom.

The Black History Month concept ought to be embraced by the rest of Africa. However, it should not be just another calendar month full of fanfare that adds no value to Africans’ life, but a moment of reflection and assessment. For example, what occasioned our fall from the Alexandria and Timbuktu glory? Why can't we provide African solutions to the Chad, DRC Congo, Sudan and Kenya conflict? Why are we identified with poverty, disease and low IQ? We ought to daily evaluate where we came from; where we are; why we are where we are; where we would like to go and how to get there.


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