African American History Month

It is here again! Last year, for those who have been with me that long, you might remember, I tried to put up some posts that were kind of cool and relevant to African American History month. Mostly the discoveries I have made in becoming fluent in that culture. Why? Because as a parent of African American children, it is my responsibility to bring their culture to them when they can't attain it.

I encourage you, if you are kind of interested in this, try a few things that you may not think to try. You don't have to go to a march or try soul food, although you're missing out on that, but just check out some of the things that you see being offered.

1) Keep your eyes on PBS. I am not kidding, they have some really great documentaries. One of them that brought me to tears last year is called "Banished". Why? Because it goes into communities that have not moved past 1960, and it's 2007, I believe, when it was made. It shocked me beyond belief to watch this woman stumble on her words to not say the "n" word which seemed to come so easily to her and she finally coughed up "colored". Well, that was a poor second choice. And she is about 10 years older than me. The civil rights movement is not over is some parts of this country, unfortunately.

I love one thing about PBS, they don't have an ax to grind. Honestly, they just show the history.

2) Some really cool things on tracing African American ancestry called "African American Lives" I am sure will air on PBS. You can see a link on the sidebar. Very cool documentary that traces back ancestry of famous African Americans we know today. The one that most touched me was when they traced by Morgan Freeman's ancestry. Many times, after slaves were declared free, African Americans changed their family name. Guess what Morgan's family changed to? Free man. Cool huh? And he's living history of that today.

One "nice" thing about slavery, slaves were property, and property owners kept meticulous records of their property. So in many respects, it is easier to trace Morgan Freeman's history than my own.

3) Look back on my blog under the label "African American History" to last February. I did several posts that are very good for kids regarding African American history, why my city has a predominantly "black" section of town, what horrifying event sparked the civil rights movement, etc. I will also try to post some of my new discoveries this year of movies, documentaries, etc.

Where is my head at this year? Martin Luther King Jr. The more I know about that man, the more I respect him. In an age of war, his biggest mantra during the civil rights movement was no violence. The older I get, and the more I see why violence happens, I am astounded that civil rights happened without violence from his followers. I know others belonging to other groups, both white and black, engaged in violence. But King stuck to his word. I really have a lot of respect for that.

So, I am excited! I am excited to learn new things, and present them to my kids. It is exciting to trace such a rich history, and to see where the African American movement is today compared to 40 years ago. And there are so many heroes to remember who gave their heart and soul to changing the minds of people. It gives me tingles to show these heroes to my kids. Join me!