Celebrate Black History Without Virtue Signaling

As February comes to a close, Project 21’s Marie Fischer says she looks forward to “eradicating Black History Month in its current form.”

It’s not that she’s against teaching black history. Quite to the contrary! But current observances have “appropriated this tradition into a vehicle for virtual signaling,” she notes in a commentary for The Federalist.

Marie writes:

We… see the acknowledgement of black history erode into two streams of thought: a progressive perspective and the celebration of black modern culture.

Black History Month tends to focus on a limited field of black history, she explains. This would include the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the Obamas, Oprah and Kamala Harris. “But how many,” Marie wonders, “would recognize the names Walter Williams, James B. Parsons, Benjamin Hooks or Zora Neale Hurston, or would know that America’s first slaveowner – Anthony Johnson – was African-American?”

And when modern black culture is allowed to define black history in its entirety, the end result is more often than not something like the “1619 Project” that promotes “America-hating and historically dubious” claims. Furthermore, Marie notes, “[w]e are trending toward celebrating victimhood instead of championing survival and perseverance.”

What Black History Month needs, Marie concludes, is “thoroughly and objectively integrating the recognition of black contributions into our society.” By doing that, “we will not only be able to say black history is American history, but also make it worth celebrating again.”

To read all of Marie’s commentary – “Left’s Tokenism Destroys Genuine Knowledge of America’s Amazing Black History” – click here to go to the website of The Federalist.

 

 

 



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