Black History in 28 Days

HOW ABOUT ALL YEAR ROUND

Black Inventor Lewis Latimer’s Carbon Filament Light Bulb

Black History Month obviously is an important time to learn about the challenges and contributions of Black people in America. But those contributions are far more than just the civil rights movement. Black Americans have been far more involved in America’s advancement than most of us have been taught. This essay dives into why Black history needs to be taught as part of American history and not just in one short month of the year. ​

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When I enrolled at Ohio State in the fall of 1987, I was fascinated by the inch-thick book of classes to choose from. Everything from calculus to French to philosophy to history of the Middle East to ping pong. No underwater basket-weaving classes, but they even had Yiddish and Swahili courses. You name the topic, they had a class for it.

At 18, I had no idea about Black Studies. A bit shortsighted of my teenage self, since I wasn’t at all shocked that the school offered Judaic Studies and Women’s Studies courses. Still, when…

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