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Black History Month - a Sixth Grader's Observations
<h3><em>Our guest post for Black History Month was researched, written and presented by Stephon Owusu to the congregation of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Harlem, New York.</em></h3>
Good morning church,
Today, it is indeed a privilege for me to stand here this morning and speak about Black History – our History.
Black History is a very important part of any conscious Negro’s life. It is not only the celebration of a month, it is an ongoing reflection on the journey of our ancestors that allows us to live and enjoy the necessities of life.
It is that journey that allows ME, a young, gifted and black child from Harlem the opportunities of any other child in America regardless of COLOUR or CREED. It is that journey that gives you, You AND YOU the right to ride the bus and sit wherever a seat is available. The journey that allows black parents to choose the schools for their children. That journey gives us the right to exercise our franchise and cast a vote. A vote that brought Martin Luther King Jr’s dream closer to fruition with a Black President in the White House today.
We often hear that all men are created equal, yet before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Black people who aimed to pursue a career in science, technology, or other fields, faced a number of obstructions. These obstructions included very limited access to educational programs, the media and the political scene, that would have allowed them to excel in their respective fields.
Nevertheless, many famous Black people, have made a number of significant contributions to society, and have influenced the people around them. There have been countless influential black musicians, actors, historians, politicians, inventors, authors, artists, activists and others that have revolutionized the history of the world.
It was Maya Angelou, with her pearls of wisdom who once said, and I quote, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” End of quote. My people, the path has been paved for us to now take the torch and continue to build on the pillars from those before us. We have come this far not by luck but rather by faith and with faith we can go further.
The burden is on us to continue the journey away from the gloomy past to build a better community and by extension country. Despite the challenges of discrimination and segregation that are still present, we can all strive to attain the bright star – Remember, NOTHING, is IMPOSSIBLE with God; can’t you foresee more black presidents ruling this country? I SURE can! ME!!!
It would be remiss of me if I speak about Black History without mentioning the work of Carter G. Woodson. A quick walk down memory lane tells us that what we now call Black History Month originated in 1926, founded by Carter G Woodson as Negro History Week.
Woodson chose the second week in February for Negro week mainly because it marks the birthday of two men who greatly influenced the Black American population, Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.
Carter G Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 to train Black historians and to collect, preserve, and publish documents on Black life and Black people. To say the least February had much more than Douglas and Lincoln birthday to show for its significance in Black American History.
<ul>
<li>On February 23rd, 1868 W. E. B. Dubois a civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP was born.</li>
<li>February 3rd, 1870 the 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.</li>
<li>February 12th, 1909, NAACP was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens of New York city.</li>
<li>February 1st, 1960, a group of black student in Greensboro, North Carolina began a sit in at a segregated Woolworth lunch counter, which later became a civil right movement milestone.</li>
<li>And on February 21st, 1965 Malcolm X the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism was shot to death.</li>
</ul>
The preservation of such information, gives us not a day, not a week, but an entire month of observance. Church, freedom is never given it is won.
If a race has NO HISTORY it has no worthwhile tradition and it stands in danger of being extinct. Let us proudly continued to celebrate our heritage.
God Bless!
<h3><em>Stephon Owusu is in the 6th grade (as of February 2014). He writes, "my favorite subject is math. I like to play basketball and football. Lastly my favorite food are pancakes"</em></h3>
Black History Month - a Sixth Grader's Observations
<h3><em>Our guest post for Black History Month was researched, written and presented by Stephon Owusu to the congregation of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Harlem, New York.</em></h3>
Good morning church,
Today, it is indeed a privilege for me to stand here this morning and speak about Black History – our History.
Black History is a very important part of any conscious Negro’s life. It is not only the celebration of a month, it is an ongoing reflection on the journey of our ancestors that allows us to live and enjoy the necessities of life.
It is that journey that allows ME, a young, gifted and black child from Harlem the opportunities of any other child in America regardless of COLOUR or CREED. It is that journey that gives you, You AND YOU the right to ride the bus and sit wherever a seat is available. The journey that allows black parents to choose the schools for their children. That journey gives us the right to exercise our franchise and cast a vote. A vote that brought Martin Luther King Jr’s dream closer to fruition with a Black President in the White House today.
We often hear that all men are created equal, yet before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Black people who aimed to pursue a career in science, technology, or other fields, faced a number of obstructions. These obstructions included very limited access to educational programs, the media and the political scene, that would have allowed them to excel in their respective fields.
Nevertheless, many famous Black people, have made a number of significant contributions to society, and have influenced the people around them. There have been countless influential black musicians, actors, historians, politicians, inventors, authors, artists, activists and others that have revolutionized the history of the world.
It was Maya Angelou, with her pearls of wisdom who once said, and I quote, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” End of quote. My people, the path has been paved for us to now take the torch and continue to build on the pillars from those before us. We have come this far not by luck but rather by faith and with faith we can go further.
The burden is on us to continue the journey away from the gloomy past to build a better community and by extension country. Despite the challenges of discrimination and segregation that are still present, we can all strive to attain the bright star – Remember, NOTHING, is IMPOSSIBLE with God; can’t you foresee more black presidents ruling this country? I SURE can! ME!!!
It would be remiss of me if I speak about Black History without mentioning the work of Carter G. Woodson. A quick walk down memory lane tells us that what we now call Black History Month originated in 1926, founded by Carter G Woodson as Negro History Week.
Woodson chose the second week in February for Negro week mainly because it marks the birthday of two men who greatly influenced the Black American population, Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.
Carter G Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 to train Black historians and to collect, preserve, and publish documents on Black life and Black people. To say the least February had much more than Douglas and Lincoln birthday to show for its significance in Black American History.
<ul>
<li>On February 23rd, 1868 W. E. B. Dubois a civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP was born.</li>
<li>February 3rd, 1870 the 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.</li>
<li>February 12th, 1909, NAACP was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens of New York city.</li>
<li>February 1st, 1960, a group of black student in Greensboro, North Carolina began a sit in at a segregated Woolworth lunch counter, which later became a civil right movement milestone.</li>
<li>And on February 21st, 1965 Malcolm X the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism was shot to death.</li>
</ul>
The preservation of such information, gives us not a day, not a week, but an entire month of observance. Church, freedom is never given it is won.
If a race has NO HISTORY it has no worthwhile tradition and it stands in danger of being extinct. Let us proudly continued to celebrate our heritage.
God Bless!
<h3><em>Stephon Owusu is in the 6th grade (as of February 2014). He writes, "my favorite subject is math. I like to play basketball and football. Lastly my favorite food are pancakes"</em></h3>
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