White History Month.

[Mkuki]

Yes, if we have black history then we should have every other race month as well. Denying something to one or more races and giving it to another is the definition of racism.
Either we do have white history month, or no race should have a month at all.
And that is why Morgen freemen and myself do not celebrate black history month.

There is an important difference though. I know what Morgan Freeman means when he says that racism will stop if we stop making a deal about it, but he isnt quite right.

What did Mr. Freeman have to say on racism?

One downside of much of the European domination of the planet is that the history of non white peoples is often discounted as not important or simply unknown.
Much of our history classes in various countries is dominated by the events surrounding white men and white culture and when it does involve other peoples usually is summarised by "what we did to them" ignoring that they too were participants.

Then why not integrate such lessons of the past into the curriculum rather than designate a single month to "extensive" study of it?

And in doing so, we are all poorer for it. Failing to understand the various views of history has led us to a path where children dont question that the Persians were the bad guys in films like 300. It gives rise to the ideas of white nationalists that we were a "superior race" who invented everything worthwhile instead of the cross cultural exchange of ideas that occured.

I don't think "300" is a very apt example for this type of discussion. Ignoring the fact that it has little to do with the history of Africans and their descendants, it's a movie dramatization of a graphic novel. I think you're placing way too much emphasis on a movie that's clearly fictional and historically inaccurate.

The history part is a big part of black history month. We need events to bring to the public eye that black people had a part in history, because much of the world does not act like they did.

Then why not do that year-round instead of confining it to one month. In my opinion, I think a black history month just trivializes the experiences and actions of African-Americans.

[Nazis in Space]

[...]Then why not integrate such lessons of the past into the curriculum rather than designate a single month to "extensive" study of it?[...]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that 'Black History Month' isn't part of an official curriculum, but rather a 'Maybe spend some time thinking about this' month similar to, say, AIDS awareness month or breast cancer awareness month.

[Vetalia]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that 'Black History Month' isn't part of an official curriculum, but rather a 'Maybe spend some time thinking about this' month similar to, say, AIDS awareness month or breast cancer awareness month.

You're correct. Back in my HS days I think we were covering WWI during BHM.

[Mkuki]

[...]Then why not integrate such lessons of the past into the curriculum rather than designate a single month to "extensive" study of it?[...]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that 'Black History Month' isn't part of an official curriculum, but rather a 'Maybe spend some time thinking about this' month similar to, say, AIDS awareness month or breast cancer awareness month.

I think it depends on the school. The schools I've been to have dedicated at least one day on something to do with African-American history. In the history classes, that is.

[The USOT]

I guess I don't get the point of White History Month; we comprise a diverse set of cultures with our own rich histories and traditions. For example, I'm Polish and German...my ancestors don't have anything directly in common with, say, an English or French person aside from skin tone. I guess there could be a European History Month commemorating the influence various European cultures had on the development of the United States but that's about it. Really, it'd be like creating an Indian History Month lumping all Native Americans in to one group despite their substantial cultural differences.

The concept of Black as a cultural identity is a product of slavery and racism; the African cultures the slaves came from were destroyed by the slaveholders who sought to eradicate such identities in order to produce a more compliant servile population. They in turn formed a new culture based upon their mutual condition, losing those former cultural ties in a pretty short time. Similarly, the racism against blacks in the 19th and 20th centuries led them to form a similar bond based upon mutual experience and the need to form communities to protect themselves, hence the creation of Black as a cultural identity rather than one based upon various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Had slavery never happened, there would be no basis for a Black History Month.

I hope you dont mind me reposting a reply, but it is relevant to your post too.

One downside of much of the European domination of the planet is that the history of non white peoples is often discounted as not important or simply unknown.
Much of our history classes in various countries is dominated by the events surrounding white men and white culture and when it does involve other peoples usually is summarised by "what we did to them" ignoring that they too were participants.
And in doing so, we are all poorer for it. Failing to understand the various views of history has led us to a path where children dont question that the Persians were the bad guys in films like 300. It gives rise to the ideas of white nationalists that we were a "superior race" who invented everything worthwhile instead of the cross cultural exchange of ideas that occured. Furthermore it contributes to the idea that the rest of the world is this strange foreign place rather than the truth of our joint global heritage.

The history part is a big part of black history month. We need events to bring to the public eye that black people had a part in history, because much of the world does not act like they did.

In short, independent of slavery we have race issues as still quite prevelant in global history.

[LiamHerndon]

All the old colleges are historically white.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_al-Karaouine
Except you know like the first one.

Okay. What I meant was most of them internationally and all the ones in the US.

[The USOT]

What did Mr. Freeman have to say on racism?

Paraphrasing: The best way to stop racism is by stop making a big deal of it.

Then why not integrate such lessons of the past into the curriculum rather than designate a single month to "extensive" study of it?

I wholeheartedly agree that we should do that!

However that is easier said than done.
Aside from voluntary self education, the amount of time it is possible to educate young people has serious constraints.
As a result, history classes tend to want to focus on specific branches of history to give young people a feel of it and give them history which is more immediatly relevant rather than that which is all encompassing.
A good example of this is in the UK (using this as the example because I am from there). During my high school years, my study or history was limited to such things as Rome, the English civil war, Britain in WW1 and the Soviet Union (there were more, I just cant remember everything off the top of my head as it was long ago ). When I went to college, I learnt about Nazi Germany, the american civil rights movement, the history of the British lower classes during the industrial revolution and WW1 military history.

All of these are very extensive in themselves, and to give MORE topics the time they deserve would have come at the cost of me learning many other vital subjects.
So in short, we either give children a more comprehensive study of specific areas of history. Or we give an overarching history of the world which will miss out much of the important history due to extreme time constraints.
The best alternative we have thus far is "history months" or days to commemorate certain cultures. It is not ideally enough, but time is something hard to fight against.

I don't think "300" is a very apt example for this type of discussion. Ignoring the fact that it has little to do with the history of Africans and their descendants, it's a movie dramatization of a graphic novel. I think you're placing way too much emphasis on a movie that's clearly fictional and historically inaccurate.

My point is not that 300 was inaccurate. My point was that many who watched that saw the Persians as an empire of slavers and Greeks the emboldened heroes. Aside from on the internet, I dont know anyone in person who knows that the Persians were one of the first major empires to ban slavery, and I know very few people (outside of civilisation players) that have had any experience of Persia beyond 300.

Then why not do that year-round instead of confining it to one month. In my opinion, I think a black history month just trivializes the experiences and actions of African-Americans.

Year round would be great. But it runs into the problems I described with education on this issue.

[Mkuki]

What did Mr. Freeman have to say on racism?

Paraphrasing: The best way to stop racism is by stop making a big deal of it.

Not the best way to approach the issue.

I wholeheartedly agree that we should do that!

However that is easier said than done.
Aside from voluntary self education, the amount of time it is possible to educate young people has serious constraints.
As a result, history classes tend to want to focus on specific branches of history to give young people a feel of it and give them history which is more immediatly relevant rather than that which is all encompassing.
A good example of this is in the UK (using this as the example because I am from there). During my high school years, my study or history was limited to such things as Rome, the English civil war, Britain in WW1 and the Soviet Union (there were more, I just cant remember everything off the top of my head as it was long ago ). When I went to college, I learnt about Nazi Germany, the american civil rights movement, the history of the British lower classes during the industrial revolution and WW1 military history.

All of these are very extensive in themselves, and to give MORE topics the time they deserve would have come at the cost of me learning many other vital subjects.
So in short, we either give children a more comprehensive study of specific areas of history. Or we give an overarching history of the world which will miss out much of the important history due to extreme time constraints.
The best alternative we have thus far is "history months" or days to commemorate certain cultures. It is not ideally enough, but time is something hard to fight against.

You make good points, however, is there any actual evidence that these dedicated months have had any real effects all on their own?

My point is not that 300 was inaccurate. My point was that many who watched that saw the Persians as an empire of slavers and Greeks the emboldened heroes. Aside from on the internet, I dont know anyone in person who knows that the Persians were one of the first major empires to ban slavery, and I know very few people (outside of civilisation players) that have had any experience of Persia beyond 300.

1. "Many"? What constitutes "many"?
2. "I know very few people (outside of civilisation players) that have had any experience of Persia beyond 300."- USOT, you should know by now that anecdotal evidence is rarely evidence of anything.

Year round would be great. But it runs into the problems I described with education on this issue.

Time is indeed a great problem. May be a good time to restructure the education system in the United States.

[Ostroeuropa]

I disagree that we should have a white history month OR a black history month.
We should radically reform the way we teach history. It has too much of a national focus.
We should take the approach that Crash Course World History does and instead discuss the history of the planet, all races at any time, any events of note.
It's the legacy of imperialism that many people believe that blacks etc simply don't have history. Black history month aims to correct this, but fucks up because it should instead simply fix normal history classes.

[Nazi Flower Power]

Paraphrasing: The best way to stop racism is by stop making a big deal of it.

Not the best way to approach the issue.

I think he meant stop bringing race into things where it doesn't need to be brought up, not for people to suffer in silence if they are being treated badly.

[Mkuki]

Not the best way to approach the issue.

I think he meant stop bringing race into things where it doesn't need to be brought up, not for people to suffer in silence if they are being treated badly.

If that's true then I agree with that.

[Vamtrl]

What about Asians? Native Indians? Give everyone a month.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I think he meant stop bringing race into things where it doesn't need to be brought up, not for people to suffer in silence if they are being treated badly.

If that's true then I agree with that.

Here's the interview USOT was paraphrasing, or at least part of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cGfrExozQ

[Shaggai]

What about Asians? Native Indians? Give everyone a month.

Or nobody and just include it in the curriculum as a whole.

[Nazi Flower Power]

What about Asians? Native Indians? Give everyone a month.

Ooh! Can we have Nazi History Month?

[Mkuki]

If that's true then I agree with that.

Here's the interview USOT was paraphrasing, or at least part of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cGfrExozQ

That's mostly my stance as far as social familiarity goes. I'd prefer to be identified by anything else other than my skin color.

[Verdum]

I would like to get everyones opionon on creating a White History Month.

I think we should have one, I mean Black people have Black History Month.


Why doesnt Whitey get there own History month? I think we should, I mean Blacks got there own History Month.

Why doesnt Whitey get there own college fund? Blacks got a college fund, why not whites?

Were are the good White Historical Colleges? Any advice anyone? It would be nice to go to a histrocially white college.

When will whitey get in on Affirmitive action? We have been discriminated against to. Why cant we get the afrimitive action?

EVERY SINGLE FREAKING MONTH IS WHITE HISTORY MONTH.

Welcome to being part of the dominant culture.

Not anymore we aren't.
I mean uh, intellectually we are.

NOW DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY.
I have been, for the past couple of years, dealing with wannabe thug children in Georgia that are possible the most illiterate excuses for living beings I have ever encountered. Off topic.

Anyways it wouldn't bother me if we had one, but someone would cry 'Racist' and it would be shut down liek dat Guvment.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

EVERY SINGLE FREAKING MONTH IS WHITE HISTORY MONTH.

Welcome to being part of the dominant culture.

Not anymore we aren't.
I mean uh, intellectually we are.

NOW DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY.
I have been, for the past couple of years, dealing with wannabe thug children in Georgia that are possible the most illiterate excuses for living beings I have ever encountered. Off topic.

Anyways it wouldn't bother me if we had one, but someone would cry 'Racist' and it would be shut down liek dat Guvment.

Is there a right way to take that?

Anyway, how does that not make us part of the dominant culture?

[Verdum]

Not anymore we aren't.
I mean uh, intellectually we are.

NOW DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY.
I have been, for the past couple of years, dealing with wannabe thug children in Georgia that are possible the most illiterate excuses for living beings I have ever encountered. Off topic.

Anyways it wouldn't bother me if we had one, but someone would cry 'Racist' and it would be shut down liek dat Guvment.

Is there a right way to take that?

Anyway, how does that not make us part of the dominant culture?

How do I put this lightly?
We don't breed like a festering hive of ants?

[Vamtrl]

What about Asians? Native Indians? Give everyone a month.

Or nobody and just include it in the curriculum as a whole.

History class would have been great if they taught us about mongol hordes.

What about Asians? Native Indians? Give everyone a month.

Ooh! Can we have Nazi History Month?

Sure.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Is there a right way to take that?

Anyway, how does that not make us part of the dominant culture?

How do I put this lightly?
We don't breed like a festering hive of ants?

Ah, so not being able to put it lightly, you choose a vile and disgusting metaphor, comparing minorities to insects. Well done. And thank you for letting me know not to waste my time on someone who would consciously post such a noxious, bigoted, and totally worthless statement.

[Mkuki]

Is there a right way to take that?

Anyway, how does that not make us part of the dominant culture?

How do I put this lightly?
We don't breed like a festering hive of ants?

Who in the US actually does?

[Shaggai]

Or nobody and just include it in the curriculum as a whole.

History class would have been great if they taught us about mongol hordes.

They did in my class.

[Benuty]

I fail to see Latvian history month offered up in the suggestions.

[Mkuki]

History class would have been great if they taught us about mongol hordes.

They did in my class.

Me, too.