Anti-racism Minute, February 7, 2021 - Cat McIntyre
At our February BUF Black Lives Matter meeting, we changed the name of this minute from Eracism to Anti-Racism, following the lead of Ibram X. Kendi. An anti-racist is someone who is willing to admit the times when they are being racist, who is willing to recognize the inequities and racial problems of our society, and who is willing to challenge those racial inequities by challenging policies.
February is Black History Month. Black Lives Matter reminds us that racism against people of color doesn't occur in a vacuum -- we must not celebrate Black History Month by studying THEIR history AS IF it occurred outside of our own.
Teejay Morris, a local black leader, wrote: "I both LOVE and LOATHE Black History Month. I love it because it's an opportunity to learn about the contributions of black people in this country. I loathe it because black history is HISTORY period. It should be taught every day of the year in every classroom in every history class."
He continues: "In my mind, you cannot talk about Thomas Jefferson without talking about Phillis Wheatley and Sally Hemings; you cannot talk about Abraham Lincoln without talking about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass; you cannot talk about John Brown without talking about Nat Turner and Margaret Garner; you cannot talk about World War I without talking about Jim Crow; you cannot talk about Women's Suffrage without talking about Ida B. Wells; you cannot talk about American literature without the Harlem Renaissance. "
Following Teejay's advice, let's make Black History Month OUR History Month, every month.
