At this time of year, I can hear certain people of every ethnocultural background, except the obvious one, stifling big yawns as they hear talk in the media of [BHM] Black History Month.
For many, their learning, and by extension, understanding of Black peoples’ history is a result of it being delivered in a haphazard way at best, or delivered like passing conversations based on rumours… with a lack of interest, like loose talk, gossip… Some do not even take it seriously.
Simply put, some people — teachers and learners — do not even take it seriously, or think there’s such an academic discipline, called Black history.
When it comes to Black people’s history and identity, some white people’s tagging us “visible minority” is telling, in fact straight up insidious. Or maybe I’m simply reading too much into the descriptive sentiment, definition, or whatever.
Just something I’ve been thinking about.
So as [my] life continues to play out, I’ll go on, confident in the belief that I’m a complete human being, not a depreciating human commodity by any stretch. The imposed social, sociological, mental baggage is laborious enough to be lugging around daily. The visible minority racial tagging is just additional baggage in my mental space and description or definition…
I’ll stay with Black; no room for further defining…
A complete human being of African/Black pedigree and heritage (much like white people for the most part are self-defining as of European extraction, no added newfangled ethnological prefixes for easier identification human being definition or identification.
Dominant society’s “visible minority” tagging… skin game is simply an unnecessary, confusing visual skin game.
And now there’s that newfangled, ludicrous one, “people of colour” that in recent years crept into the English lexicon. I find it despicable, distasteful… Additional racial mental baggage imposed on us by the dominant group for easier, albeit dubious identification purposes if and when they deem it necessary or important for identification purposes deem it necessary for surveilling those “visible minorities” for whatever reasons/purposes, if you will? Their endless proverbial questionable identification purposes…?
As the saying goes: Enough already!
Just ask the police.
The fact that they continue to utilize methodology/strategy fraught with mistakes to identify suspects is evidence of that. It speaks to the fact that police, when their out hunting, need to utilize better, updated strategies or methods to identify Black people when they’re out hunting/investigating proverbial, potential criminals.
Credit or blame the brothers/sisters down south in the crime fighting/profiling/perfecting business and systemic failures in those societies/communities they pledge to “Protect and Serve.” They must ensure that they’re blessed with 20/20 vision… meaning the ability to discern the right colour of their usual subjects and usual prey…most often Black males.
And as this 2022 segment of Black History Month comes to an end, something comes to mind, which reminds me that despite how humanly-forgettable some aspects of history might sometimes be, ours is not merely about pain and suffering… or hell and damnation. As such I’m reminded that there are, have been times, periods of laughter, fun and frolick, good times.
“Summer of Soul,” a veritable soulful, musical callaloo was about to be resuscitated and eventually brought to cable tv.
I had completely forgot about that event and bit of African American history, a veritable music extravaganza of primarily African American artists, representing: various musical genres, happened in a (Bronx) New York City park in 1969.
Being under parental control at the time, much like many of my friends, the closest I got to that park and happening festival was periodic news stories of the Woodstock-like festival in NYC.
I initially heard about the festival from the mouth of one Ahmir Khalib Thompson, better known professionally as Questlove, drummer for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s band.
I recall listening to him being interviewed by CNN’s Don Lemon in 2021, and him mentioning the discovery of film footage of the historic Harlem Cultural Festival, which took place in August 1969.
The tapes had been essentially discarded in a dusty basement of an old apartment building.
At the time Questlove vowed to rescue those tapes and bring them back to life, essentially resuscitating an important aspect of African American history in Harlem and that story and period of Black history.
Well, Questlove put his money where his mouth and ideas were when that historic gold mine of a sample and period in time of African American culture was revived and recently televised on ABC a couple weeks ago.
Someone, a young tv buff and Netflix kid, also reminded me that Summer of Love is also streaming on HULU. Actually, I believe also saw promo on CRAVE TV.
I had a chance to view the rescued musical treasure last weekend. It’s truly entertaining and enjoyable.
Watch it if you can. If you were alive in that era it will bring back wonderful memories… of that particular period in time.
It’s a little bit of Black History rescued from the grave so to speak, and full of good memories of certain musical acts of the day.
Go on and end Black History Month 2022 on a musical upbeat.
With all due respect to those preceded us, Black history should not be merely about solely about trials and tribulation…
Find and watch ‘Summer of 1969’ on the channels mentioned, or probably streaming on some other tv network or platform. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.
If you’re old enough it will bring back pleasant memories of another era, of a period and place in time when people in Black communities lived, not perfect but relatively peaceful communities.
No history, not the least ours, should, depending on when you were born, should not merely be an era, depending on the era you were born merely be about histories/lifetimes of trials and tribulations…
Don’t know, or want to know more about Black History Month? There are multiple sources of information available to enlighten. Books, magazines and other publications, online…
This publication is also a veritable information gateway to Black history and legacy…
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
