New Series: Positive Black History

Hey yal,
For as long as have been alive people have been teaching me black history, black heritage and African American culture. I have enjoyed (read: eventually grew to enjoy) learning about my past and our community but is seems every where I turn, from elementary to high school to museums to lecture series at my college very rarely do I get to hear POSITIVE black history. It usually reads: "We were enslaved, we ran away, there was a war, now we are not slaves but institutionally and systematically we are still marginalized." Important to be made aware of, but that is not all I want to hear.

I want to know, "What are some of our notable successes?"

Who are our inventors, what contributions have we made to so city, art, education, politics, aspects ?of the infrastructure of our nation? We are not all gang-bangers, statistics say that African american women are the most educated population in the nation.

"So what have all those women along with others gone on to achive?"

Teach me that.

I have heard of George Washinton Carver, Dizzy Gillespie and Langston Hughes, but they are one among many! That like saying the whole Civil rights movement was led only by Matrin luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Thurgood Marshall, the whole anti-slavery movement was single-handedly run by Frederick Douglass, or that ALL escaping slaves were lead by Harriet Tubman! That is simply not the truth. Sure they are notable figures to study from the times, but there were hundreds of other valuable, noteworthy people making history along side them who we never study. Today we speak of the Obama's (and rightfully so I look up to them with pride, honor and respect for all they have done and continue to do for our nation and for our culture!), Oprah Winfrey (for her work in tv making a respected household name for herself and a media empire), and Beyoncé Knowles (in the music industry and in culture), Denzel Washington (winning the in the film industry) or every black athlete in the NBA ever. 

But there is more to our culture than food, sports and entertainment! 

Or maybe there is not.

 I do not know, because I have never been taught it. I hope to change this, I hope to learn all I can about the impact my culture and people have made on society. Maybe the only major breakthroughs we have made are in those areas. That is fine, if you are good at something there is no reason why you should not do it. There is no shame in that. I just want to allow myself and eventually others to know that we are more than our slave story, and if waves have not been made in other aspects of society we are free to go and make them. 

To list an example or two, the Obama's made major waves in the political scene. In film, the movie Hidden Figures spreed a light on waves that African American woman made in the mathematical and scientific field many years ago. The shedding of light on this topic is now making NEW waves with NASA and the US government reaching out to youngsters telling them they can achieve this too. 

I feel that with enough positive publicity and with more positive history to our education, the identity of young African Americans would shift. If you think all you can be is a sports star or Beyoncé, and you are good at neither of those things, you are reduced to aiming for whatever minimum wage (yes, I am hardcore stereotyping) living you see around you. If in school, you learned about wonderful people who look you, and the breadth of notable things they are doing in the world, you would grow up having many outstanding role models to choose from. Thus, allowing you to find and value your own personal skill set and make your mark on the world. 

Nothing is perfect.

Other races and ethnic backgrounds are taught only negative histories as well. Alas, there is only one me and I happen to be black. So I will do what I can to educate myself on the notable and positive stories of my people and hope that others in their own rights are inspired to do the same. 

So be on the lookout for a bazillion and two random (heh heh get it "random") posts on positive things blacks have done in all spheres of life. You have been forewarned! 

#sorrynotsorry

All my love,

Nikki

PS: I know in this post I missed a lot of popular positive role models in today's society. Forgive me, AND educate me! Comment below message me or email me a link. I would love to know and learn more about the amazing things my people have done/are currently doing!