Black History in the Making

Issue #42

I find it mind-numbing to read stories of parents equating the celebration of Black History Month to the teaching of Critical Race Theory, a legal theory that isn’t even taught at every law school in America. And yet here we are, with the latest object of culture war hysteria being used to attack the lifting up and learning of our shared history.  

Some critical race theory opponents believe books discussing Ruby Bridges, the first Black child to desegregate her Southern school, have no place in classrooms or school libraries. As though we are too precious to acknowledge what should be a shared pain. Too proud to embrace a shared history. 

Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” And our American tree would fall if we were to let our history, imperfect, scarred but rich, get erased from the curriculum in our schools. 

Black culture and history is part of America’s root system. It is not a theory. The cancel culture we need to worry about and protect against is the one that tries to snuff out our self-understanding. The one that tries to keep the girl from Minnesota in the story below from competing in her homemade “Black Lives Matter” swimsuit. The one that lets someone at Bath and Body Works sign off on a watermelon-scented candle as part of Black History Month pride. The one that makes some Americans resistant to the nomination of a female, Black Supreme Court Justice. 

We have a lot of work to do to better understand ourselves and our history. Thank you for being with us on this journey to Raise Black Voices. Now let’s get to it.

Marissa Matusiak
Founder, Raise Black Voices