February is Black History Month, and there is no better time to focus on African American History in one's household. For that matter, there is no better time to start a habit of keeping engaged all year long with this fascinating field. One great way to do this through the simple act of putting up a calendar celebrating notable historical figures and dates.
Literature written by black people during past decades and centuries is one fine way to find out about how blacks have lived, even if the accounts are fictional. This can be especially important for younger family members who might be challenged to imagine really living in eras unlike their own in important ways. Historical texts can offer a more concentrated look into details, but can leave the reader cold when it comes to imagining past periods.
Families might read a novel together, perhaps one each week for the month, given the book's complexity and size. It might be preferable to chose a different poem written by a black poet every morning and read it at the breakfast table. One advantage to either approach is that they automatically lend variety, since each February can bring an entirely fresh reading list.
Many people, especially the young, feel they already have an expertise in black music even though all they know is rap. This actually creates an opportunity, even a responsibility, to add a musical appreciation component to one's February syllabus just in order to shatter such notions. Too many youngsters have no awareness whatsoever of jazz, and fewer still know anything about the blues.
Of course, one must not dismiss studying history in a more direct way, whether through text or by electronic media. It needs to be pointed out that this material isn't simply the story of black people, but that it is the history of the United States generally. No matter what one's ethnicity, everyone has some stake in the story of black people in America. It can be important if only to gain a deeper knowledge of some of today's challenges and events.
Needless to say, there is no reason this study must stop at the borders of the United States. There is much to be said for studying the history of Africa before the slave trade. For black people, especially children, it can be psychologically important to understand that their story does not begin in some cotton field in South Carolina, but in Africa, a place that had its own empires, kings and queens.
Other ethnic groups might not be comfortable looking into this topic, which can be very political as well as painful for those very young or sensitive. However, there are ways anyone can engage black culture. One of those ways might be a soul food dinner, treating everyone to delicious Southern cooking. Another way might be to visit a black church one Sunday morning, an environment in which strangers of another ethnicity will be almost certain to be welcomed.
There is no requirement that one has to black. Nor does one have to work oneself to the bone. Every American should know this history.
Literature written by black people during past decades and centuries is one fine way to find out about how blacks have lived, even if the accounts are fictional. This can be especially important for younger family members who might be challenged to imagine really living in eras unlike their own in important ways. Historical texts can offer a more concentrated look into details, but can leave the reader cold when it comes to imagining past periods.
Families might read a novel together, perhaps one each week for the month, given the book's complexity and size. It might be preferable to chose a different poem written by a black poet every morning and read it at the breakfast table. One advantage to either approach is that they automatically lend variety, since each February can bring an entirely fresh reading list.
Many people, especially the young, feel they already have an expertise in black music even though all they know is rap. This actually creates an opportunity, even a responsibility, to add a musical appreciation component to one's February syllabus just in order to shatter such notions. Too many youngsters have no awareness whatsoever of jazz, and fewer still know anything about the blues.
Of course, one must not dismiss studying history in a more direct way, whether through text or by electronic media. It needs to be pointed out that this material isn't simply the story of black people, but that it is the history of the United States generally. No matter what one's ethnicity, everyone has some stake in the story of black people in America. It can be important if only to gain a deeper knowledge of some of today's challenges and events.
Needless to say, there is no reason this study must stop at the borders of the United States. There is much to be said for studying the history of Africa before the slave trade. For black people, especially children, it can be psychologically important to understand that their story does not begin in some cotton field in South Carolina, but in Africa, a place that had its own empires, kings and queens.
Other ethnic groups might not be comfortable looking into this topic, which can be very political as well as painful for those very young or sensitive. However, there are ways anyone can engage black culture. One of those ways might be a soul food dinner, treating everyone to delicious Southern cooking. Another way might be to visit a black church one Sunday morning, an environment in which strangers of another ethnicity will be almost certain to be welcomed.
There is no requirement that one has to black. Nor does one have to work oneself to the bone. Every American should know this history.
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