White history month?, racism Options

[sammi rules you]

^ mhm.

just because that happened then doesn't mean it's going on now. african americans are equal to white people. people who had slaves aren't even living now. why use that as an excuse?

[hi-C]

african americans are equal to white people.

While in a perfect world, this would be true, it sadly is not.

I'm Black, I was actually a little bit offended by this topic; forgive me for being "sensitive."

"Blacks are getting everything nowadays" -> Are you kidding me? The highest poverty rates are among minorities.

"I have pride in being white and we get no recognition whatsoever?" -> Every other month other than February (and the other minority months, I think March or November is like Hispanic History Month, not too sure about the others) is for the study and reflection of white history.

"And please don't say I am being racist. I live in the South for God's sake." -> Why would you being in the South make you have a propensity for being less racist?

[sammi rules you]

how is every other month for studying white history? just because there's a lot of white people in our countries' history doesn't mean we're studying white history. i'm studying american history and the only reason it's prominitely white people is because during those years, black people weren't allowed to do anything basically. but that doesn't mean it's studying white history.

[hi-C]

Okay, let's call it history from the point of view of the white man. You don't get to see it from the point of view of the minorities in this country. Unfortunately, sub-altern studies isn't coming into the classroom.

[lilphoenix]

technically, we shouldn't have any months relating to any history.

[hi-C]

Oh yes, something I forgot. These "negro colleges." The term is actually "Historically Black Colleges and Universities." It's not like white people can't attend; they don't apply.

[Ington]

There are two ways to make this fair for everyone. Either we make a holiday for every culture or none. Neither of them would work. Thats because everyone CAN NOT be happy at one time.

I happen to be white, and it is a little strange how there are no white holidays. But then i realized, black holidays are celebrated to symbolize moments in history. They are there to remind us of the past and our past mistakes, so that we don't commit to them again. Really, i don't think white people did anything that would help the future yet. Not whites in general. We should have Nobel Peace Prize month instead of White Month. Or something of the sort.

And the topic of race in general; minorities are able to talk about other races but the majority, whites, cannot. This is for one reason. We are scared. Whites know that if one politically incorrect word slips from our mouths we'll be blamed for everything. Minorities however, don't have to think twice. This is because they have the benefit of the doubt. The majority is larger than the minority, so it would make the minority seem weaker, and help them avoid the pressure of being politically incorrect.

As for me, i don't give a crap about race.

okay, take a gander in your hostory book. all it is is white people. the only thing you read about black people is slavery and thomas crowe laws. the only time you read about asia is when whitey bombed them in WWII and again in vietnam. every month is white history month.

eventually, though, cultural plauralism will probably work out, and their will be no need for any history month of any kind.

I believe you're talking about the Jim Crowe laws. Not the thomas crowe laws. Just pointing it out.

God i am one smart 14-year-old

[freeflow]

i totally agree with the history book thing . ya im black and im not racist or anything but all i want to say is everday were in history class we mostly learn about white people , the only time you really here about black people is during black history month or to talkabout them being slaves and how bad there life was. other than that everything else is basically white people that we learn about. it may not be a national holiday but in all our education it is mostly about white people soo that basically is like a white history month exceptit last WAYYY LONGER THAN A MONTH!

like "miss mata" sayd black colleges are not just for black people . its just the white people dont apply.

black history month is just giving black people a time to express themselves . we learn soo much about white history that black history deserves to be noticed

[katssso]

Yah, you have a point.

[sammi rules you]

^ smart 14 year olds are cool. (ok, now this is more up there, but yea.)

okay, take a gander in your hostory book. all it is is white people. the only thing you read about black people is slavery and thomas crowe laws. the only time you read about asia is when whitey bombed them in WWII and again in vietnam. every month is white history month.

eventually, though, cultural plauralism will probably work out, and their will be no need for any history month of any kind.

1) go look at my post before this one.
2) name an important figure in america's history that was asian. nothing against asians, but maybe if this was asia, there'd be more about asia. of course that's the highlight of our history studies of asia, we didn't do much else with them.
3) i actually have a lot about black people in my history book. i have some boston tea party where the first guy shot was black, i have some peanut butter inventing, and i have slavery too, mainly because that's the highlight of black history. go take a gander at black history month, what gets retorted to everyone every year? slavery. duh. not to mention the whole section on the first humans. there's like a whole unit on africans.

[hi-C]

^ smart 14 year olds are cool. (ok, now this is more up there, but yea.)
i actually have a lot about black people in my history book. i have some boston tea party where the first guy shot was black, i have some peanut butter inventing, and i have slavery too, mainly because that's the highlight of black history. go take a gander at black history month, what gets retorted to everyone every year? slavery.

I disagree with you. I think the highlight of BHM is the Civil Rights Movement. And during school, I think we spent more time on the Civil Rights movement than slavery. And you just named the surface of Black History. It's much deeper than that. And if slavery gets retorted to everyone every year it's because forgetting is a dangerous. Remembering keeps us from making the same mistakes. But then again, that's the purpose of most holidays.

[xquizit]

Remembering keeps us from making the same mistakes.

That pretty much sums it up.

[sammi rules you]

in high school, here, we only really focus on the civil rights movement on martin luther king jr day..or did, before it got changed to "important americans day" or whatever.

i learn about slavery a heck of a lot though. maybe it's different in other places.

[TreesTurnMeOn]

i totally agree with the history book thing . ya im black and im not racist or anything but all i want to say is everday were in history class we mostly learn about white people , the only time you really here about black people is during black history month or to talkabout them being slaves and how bad there life was. other than that everything else is basically white people  that we learn about. it may not be a national holiday but in all our education it is mostly about white people soo that basically is like a white history month exceptit last WAYYY LONGER THAN A MONTH!

like  "miss mata" sayd black colleges are not just for black people . its just the white people dont apply.

black history month is just giving black people a time to express themselves . we learn soo much about white history that black history deserves to be noticed

Okay.....maybe the history books are mostly about white people because white people created the country and are the main race (besides indian) that started the country. It isn't because anyone is being racist. It is just a fact that white people played a longer role in history than the black people did. And half of the stuff about the whites are bad becuase half of it has to do with slavery. So really, we never talk about any of the good things white people did. If we took out the some of the slavery sections and put in sections about the good things that white people accomplished, people would go off saying the school board is being racist and not giving blacks enough recognition.

And I never said that whites weren't allowed to go to negro schools. I said that black people are allowed to get scholorships just for their race and white people don't. They get all in our face about being racist and here they are giving out scholorships because of a person's color. You say that black people get the scholorships because most of them live in poverty, but if we say that black people live in poverty, then we will get sued or something like that.

It seems to me like most people look at the racial issues like this. If we get something out of it, no matter if it is harsh or not, then we don't care. But if we state the same exact fact but we don't get anything out of it, then it is horrible.

It is so very confusing

[miss barnes]

Okay, so I am not trying to be racist or anything, but who here agrees with me that the black people are getting way more recognition than the whites

i dont..thats crazy...every day is white day at my school. teachers talk about black history for 28 days and as soon as it hits march 1st they drop the subject like a bad habit

Now we have black history month, black activists month, and negro colleges/college funds? This is just not fair.

so? your point being? oh and its HBC, not negro colleges. there are college funds because most african americans, cant afford to go to college. There are funds for white people too.

Everyone believes that if we have a white history month then we will be racist? We aren't. Blacks are getting everything nowadays and if the white people try to put say into anything, it gets shoved back in our face as a racist commentI love black history and everything, but I have pride in being white and we get no recognition whatsoever? Does anyone agree with me..

What is this EVERYTHING that we are getting? please tell me.

And please don't say I am being racist. I live in the South for God's sake.

what living in the south have to do w/ anything. people in the south are the ones that are more racist

[racoons > you]

what living in the south have to do w/ anything. people in the south are the ones that are more racist

surely that's bigotry and state-ism in itself?

you do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race saying, ' you are free to compete with all the others', and beliving that he is inferior, move him up till he is next to the finish line and tell the others 'now he is equal to you' and belive you have been completely fair.

and yet that is what we have done, with our affirmative action, and our black history month, and all our racist institutions designed to 'level the playing ground'

i agree. point well made

black history month is just giving black people a time to express themselves . we learn soo much about white history that black history deserves to be noticed

black history isn't studied as much in schools. i'll grant you that. however, that could be because there's less of it. i mean in terms of proportions, the civil rights period was onl really about a decade odd long, my memories slightly foggy about exact dates. when put together with the rest of what you have so ignorantly termed 'white-history' and month out of 180 odd days of school is more thsan adequate. we actually spent more time than that covering the underground rairoad and the emancipation and the civlil rights period ( although obviously not all at the same tme, im talking combined time here) during 8th grade.

what the crux of the issue is, is that not one's saying black history should be ignored, but that if someone donated a particular month to white history the way that it has been done for black history, it wouldn't be tolerated. why is that? why aren't white people allowed to be proud f THEIR race, in the way that African American's are?

[lAzN YiN YanGl]

If there were a White History month, all the minorities would probably get huffy.

Yeah, maybe we just shouldn't have any holidays celebrating race or gender.

Like you said, all the minorities would get huffy which is the whole point of helping them. Many white people are typically born into prosperitous families or something while african americans or whatever aren't as luck or something. I'm probably wrong but whatever

[racoons > you]

Like you said, all the minorities would get huffy which is the whole point of helping them.

what?

[TreesTurnMeOn]

what?

Yah..what? Lol

And you pretty much took the words out of my mouth. So yea, same thing she said. ^^

[heyyfrankie]

maybe "the blacks" are getting more recognition because they used to not be recognized. as for "the whites" they always got recognition. they are just getting the recognition that they never got.

[inquisitive_]

I really don't understand this thread. How can you say "blacks get all the recognition"? African-Americans are still fighting for equal rights. Which one is most likely to get stopped by a cop: a group of white guys or a group of black guys? In my opinion, they deserve their month. Like MissMata said, "remembering keeps us from making same mistakes".

[ilauqh]

i am white and i agree with you completely. i go to a school where there are no african americans but there are asian and indians. most indians and asians are not rasist but they can be towards white people. and if a white person says one little thing about another race the other races get so angry and curse at them but its okay for their race to say bad stuff about white people. it really bugs me.

[xquizit]

Like you said, all the minorities would get huffy which is the whole point of helping them. Many white people are typically born into prosperitous families or something while african americans or whatever aren't as luck or something. I'm probably wrong but whatever

Well, seeing as how African Americans in this country started off in poor living conditions and poor education after they were released from the bonds of slavery, it has taken a while for them to bring up their status, and they are still struggling to this day.

[Teesa]

I really don't understand this thread. How can you say "blacks get all the recognition"?  African-Americans are still fighting for equal rights. Which one is most likely to get stopped by a cop: a group of white guys or a group of black guys? In my opinion, they deserve their month. Like MissMata said, "remembering keeps us from making same mistakes".

yes, exactly.

black people were the slaves, its true, but it took a white man to free them (LIncoln).

well, obviously it took a white man..he was the president and do you think anyone would listen to a black man talking about the Emancipation Proclamation? I don't think so.

[hi-C]

i'll grant you that. however, that could be because there's less of it. i mean in terms of proportions, the civil rights period was onl really about a decade odd long, my memories slightly foggy about exact dates. when put together with the rest of what you have so ignorantly termed 'white-history' and month out of 180 odd days of school is more thsan adequate.

what the crux of the issue is, is that not one's saying black history should be ignored, but that if someone donated a particular month to white history the way that it has been done for black history, it wouldn't be tolerated. why is that? why aren't white people allowed to be proud f THEIR race, in the way that African American's are?

The Civil Rights Movement was more than a decade long. As a matter of fact, it's still in effect right now. It's not as prominent as it used to be because of people who think the problem has been solved and we're all equal.

And if we call it "white history" it's because you coined the term with your first post.

The reason why there's a Black History Month is because we need it. We're among the poorest in the country, there are still long held biases against us, and so on. There's so many factors working against us, so it's nice to have a small period in which we're able to be recognized for the good that we've done.