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Showing posts from February, 2013

What's up with Blacks & Black History Month?

[courtesy of google images] I attended a workshop back in the Fall where the presenters focused on vicarious traumatization experiences of African Americans via media protrayals. It was an interesting presentation, but what stuck with me most was  a tangential conversation that came up during the audience discussion. I forgot how it started, but there came a point when one of the presenters shared a story of how her son came to her with questions about why everyone at school was talking about Martin Luther King, Jr as if he is the only successful black person. The presenter concluded her disclosure saying that Black History Month just doesn't make sense in the context of today. The idea of talking about the first Black person to do this or do that limits the truth that many more than just one Black person has been successful. Therefore, she does not engage in Black History Month celebrations or acknowledgements. While I can agree with the notion that discussing the histo...