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Black History Month
an interview with Curtis May
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The Odyssey staff interviewed Curtis May, director
of the Office of Reconciliation Ministries, an outreach
ministry of the Worldwide Church of God, about Black
History Month.
From left: John McKenna, Mike Feazell, Paul
Kroll,
Curtis May and Mike Morrison. [Photo by Tom Hanson] |
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Question: What is Black History Month?
Curtis May: Black History Month began in 1926 as
Negro History Week. It was established by Carter
G. Woodson as a way to bring attention to the positive
contributions of black people in American history.
In 1976 Negro History Week became Black History Month. |
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Q. Who was Carter G. Woodson?
A. Dr. Woodson was a son of former slaves. He worked
in the coal mines in Kentucky to put himself through
high school. He graduated from Berea College in Kentucky
in 1903, and then went on to Harvard for his Ph.D.
It bothered him to find that blacks had hardly been
written about in American history books, even though
blacks had been part of American history from as
far back as colonial times. And when blacks were
mentioned, it was not in ways that reflected the
positive contributions that they had made.
So he wanted to do something about that. In 1915,
he established the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History (now called the Association for
the Study of Afro-American Life and History) and
then founded the Journal of Negro History and Negro
History Bulletin. Then in 1926 he started promoting
the second week of February as Negro History Week. |
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Q. Why February?
A. Woodson chose February because
the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (right) and abolitionist
Frederick Douglass (far right) were in that month.
These were two men who had a great influence on black
Americans.
In addition, several other important events took
place in February. For example, the 15th Amendment,
which said that the right to vote could not be denied
on account of race, was ratified on Feb. 3, 1870.
W.E.B. DuBois (right), educator and writer, was
born in February 1868. The first black U.S. senator,
Hiram Revels (far right), took his oath of office
in February 1870. The founding of the NAACP in 1909
took place in February, as did the murder of Malcolm
X in 1965, and the Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in
at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960. |
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Q. Why is Black History Month important today?
A. All young people need positive role models to
inspire them and spur them on and to help them know
that they, too, have the potential to achieve their
dreams and accomplish worthwhile and important things.
Young blacks need to know about the many positive
achievements of black men and women throughout history
in every field of endeavor. Knowing what others have
done inspires confidence in young people to know
that they can do worthwhile things too.
Knowing about the achievements of black doctors,
scientists, lawyers, economists and journalists provides
encouragement and incentive to black young people
to strive for excellence themselves. Without such
knowledge and encouragement, young people can end
up wasting precious time and energy blaming the system
and feeling victimized. |
Q. How would you describe the value of Black History
Month for nonblacks?
A. Black history is not merely black history, it
is American history. By better understanding the
positive contributions of another ethnic group, all
Americans benefit. When we understand one another
better, we are that much closer to having positive
relationships with one another.
Many nonblacks, even many blacks, have erroneous
stereotypes in their minds about blacks and their
history in the United States. These negative ideas
and impressions create barriers to good relationships
and to the true potential that all Americans have
for working together toward our common goals for
freedom, peace and achievement.
Black History Month provides a focus on the positive
history, achievements and contributions to American
ideals that blacks have made throughout history.
And that helps to dispel the negative ideas and stereotypes
that invariably spring up when the truth is not given
the light of day.
The experience of black Americans in our history
can be a further inspiration to all Americans that
no matter how tough the struggle, no matter what
the odds, when we don’t give up, when we stand together
firmly for the right and the truth, great things
can happen. And there’s nothing more truly American
than that. It’s our collective legacy and heritage. |
Q. How can Christians benefit from Black History
Month?
A. The civil rights movement was born in Christian
faith and values. The early leaders of the movement
were Christian ministers, black and white alike,
who saw injustice and worked in nonviolent ways to
bring the love of Jesus Christ to bear on a system
that reflected neither the gospel itself nor the
deepest values of the U.S. Constitution.
As Christians, when we rehearse that struggle and
celebrate the positive achievements of Americans
who excelled despite having been socially marginalized,
we affirm the values and responsibilities of our
faith. |
Q. Can you give me one word that in your mind
characterizes Black History Month?
A. Well, I think I’d have to say hope. It’s all
about promoting hope—hope for a better tomorrow that
springs from the lessons, the tears and the joys
of what has gone before. It’s a hope that grows from
understanding and from truth—and from the power of
love.
And I thank Jesus Christ, because he takes all our
meager efforts and turns them into a real and true
hope that sees past all the challenges of the present
and into a future where his love binds all people
together, all people of all backgrounds and races
and histories all bound together as one in him. |
Church History Corner
The Life and Times of Martin Luther King Jr.
1929-1968
It’s fitting during Black History Month in February
that we remember the work and vision of Martin Luther
King Jr., a major leader of the civil rights movement
beginning in the mid1950s. Americans celebrate his birthday
as a national holiday each January, recalling the struggle
to end racism and bigotry in America. King was an eloquent
Baptist minister who advocated and participated in nonviolent
means to achieve civil right for blacks and equality
for all.
King received a bachelor of divinity degree from Crozier
Theological Seminary in 1951 and earned a doctor of philosophy
degree from Boston University in 1955. He came from a
long line of Baptist ministers. His father was pastor
of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and in 1960, King
moved to the city to pastor his father’s congregation.
King was chosen as the first president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference in 1957.
In 1963, he was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, after
a nonviolent protest that led to a confrontation with
Public Safety Commissioner "Bull" Connor and
municipal authorities. While in jail, King was criticized
by a group of white clergymen who blamed him for inciting
the violence and who voiced concerns about his civil
rights strategy. It was then that he penned his "Letter
From a Birmingham Jail."
King ended his letter with these words: "I hope
this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope
that circumstances will soon make it possible for me
to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil
rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian
brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial
prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding
will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and
in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of
love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation
with all their scintillating beauty."
Then in August 1963 came King’s most soaring and hopeful
civil rights rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, D.C. Here he delivered his rallying "I
Have a Dream" speech."
For his work to end segregation and discrimination,
King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King
was only 35 years old when he accepted the prize in December
of that year on behalf of all who participated in the
Civil Rights Movement, making him the youngest recipient
of the award in history.
But the seeds of human hatred and bitterness cut short
King’s life less than four years later. On April 4, 1968,
while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in
Memphis, Tennessee, he was shot to death by James Earl
Ray. King was only 39 years old. Though he never wavered
from his position and practice that nonviolence must
remain the approach of the civil rights movement, he
died a martyr’s death from an assassin’s bullet.
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