Change Black History Month to Black Celebration Month.

As America shifts through how to properly treat black people, I have come to the realization that some Americans find it hard to treat black people how they would treat their own.

Recently, a Utah charter school (Maria Montessori Academy) had given the parents, of their students an opt out option, so their kids could skip the part of their curriculum where black people were discussed within American history. The school administrator previously mentioned that several parents requested for their child to not learn about black history. But quickly backpedalled and no longer allowed students to opt-out, after heavy criticism.

This situation made me recognize a lot about my own opinions and how America sees black people.

My initial reaction to the charter school was outrage but it quickly subsided as logic took over.

I begin to think why those parents would want their children to not learn about black history. It would be easy to point to racism but that would have been a lazy argument . Quickly I realized that the reason those parents don’t want there kids learning about black history is because they don’t view it as American history.

They don’t realize that history doesn’t have one set color. History doesn’t have one language. History is what actually happened and not what you would have wanted to happen.

What if a black person didn’t want their kids to learn about George Washington or Benjamin Franklin?

First, it wouldn’t even be an option. Secondly, it shouldn’t happen because it’s not beneficial. History is a tool for every generation to use on what and what not to do moving into the future.

But the only way to make people realize that Black history is American history, is to stop separating it. When we talk about George Washington becoming the first President of the United States of America in 1732, let's explain how he felt about slaves while your at it.

Often times America loves to mention black people in history as if they did not exist with white people. George Washington was our first president and he had slaves, let’s not be afraid to say that.

The first thing that needs to be done is that we need to change Black history month to black celebration month.

We don’t need a month to talk about Black history. How about when we teach what Ben Franklin meant to American history, we talk about what black people were doing at that same time. Let’s stop pretending that the history of different races didn’t happen simultaneously.

In turn, when February rolls around every year let’s celebrate the great things black people have accomplished and how they have influenced American society. Let’s have festivals, parades and maybe even play all the music that black people have created all these years. Let’s celebrate the black people who are alive and not wait until their demise to celebrate them in a good light.

When Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King were in their prime years of fighting for what they believed in, they were the most hated individuals in America, but decades later and when their long gone, they are held in high esteem.

America seems to love black people conditionally.

Black people are better for America when their quiet and restricted. It’s almost like giving black people any privilege or advantages irritates some in society, who seem to feel that black people shouldn’t get their time to shine.

It’s 2021 and the light bulb has seemed to click for many especially companies such Amazon and Target. It’s sad that it took this long for society to realize that black people have been mistreated.

For those who are tired of hearing about the struggles that black people have to endure. There’s two simple solutions.

Let’s redefine black history as American history, not some kind of side note in one month.

And simply treat a black person like you would treat any other American, with an unconditional love.