by Robin Landry

Created on: July 10, 2008

I definitely believe that African-American History Month should be replaced with an integrated American history curriculum. While others may share this point of view I suspect that my reasons may be quite different.

As an African-American I am sometimes dismayed when I hear Caucasian friends and colleagues remark, "I don't understand why there is a Black History Month'. If you're going to have that shouldn't there also be a White History Month' too?" Some might dismiss such comments as "racist". However, I think they are more of a sad commentary on the continuing failure of the American educational system to provide a comprehensive view of American history that fully includes everyone who helped to make our country great.

Carter G. Woodson, who launched the idea for "Negro History Week", which later evolved into African-American History month was a man of many accomplishments. I do not remember ever studying him in any of my grade school or high school history classes in the 1970s and would venture to guess that few school aged children today, Black or White are even familiar with his name.

The son of slaves, who spent much of his early life at hard manual labor, strongly valued education. His determination and perseverance enabled him to obtain his high school diploma at age 22 before going on to achieve advanced degrees in History from the University of Chicago and Harvard University. The Howard University professor went on to found the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in 1905, the Journal of Negro History in 1916 and author "The Mis-Education of the Negro in 1933.

Woodson recognized that Black history wasn't being studied. African-Americans were either treated as if they were wearing a permanent cloak of invisibility in terms of United States history or were portrayed quite negatively.

Carter Woodson believed that this led to problems within both the Black and White communities. If White Americans are never given the opportunity to learn about the positive contributions of African-Americans to our society they may very easily begin to believe that African-Americans simply haven't contributed anything of value to American life. Such a misconception could reinforce beliefs that whites are naturally superior and, unfortunately could lead to the idea that the supposed "inferiority" of blacks somehow justifies their oppression.

By the same token, African-Americans who never have the opportunity to learn about Black heroes and their positive

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