ECC History Professor Dr. Vincent Gaddis speaks on Black History Month and its significance on society.
Q: What is the significance of Black History Month?
A: The significance of Black History Month is that, as Carter G Woodson wrote, who is the father of Black History Month, it started as Black History Week, but Carter G Woodson wrote this very important book, The Miseducation of the Negro, a people without a history, have no identity, No real existence, so you’re not connected to anything.
Q: Do we still need a month devoted to Black History Month?
A: Yes, we do, as an institution and as a country. We need to re highlight to this administration and to those who support it, that black history matters, right, that black history is American history, that there is no America without the contributions of black people.
Q: What was the African diaspora to Latin America?
A: Africans were brought as slaves to the Western Hemisphere. The vast majority went to places like Brazil, Jamaica, what is today, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, what is today? Well, then Colombia. Today is Panama. What is today, Puerto Rico, Cuba.
Q: What do you think about Trump’s opinion on Martin Luther King Jr?
A: At the weekend of Martin Luther King’s birthday, Donald Trump removed the Martin Luther King sculpture bust from the White House. That tells me all I need to know about Donald Trump’s attitude or belief about Martin Luther King, all I need to look at is a policy to dismantle Diversity Equity and Inclusion.
Q: Why is it important to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr and his legacy?
A: It’s important to recognize Martin Luther King’s legacy, not the mythology of King. He does have a legacy. His real legacy is as a militant civil rights leader in search of what I would call radical democratic participation, a country that’s where all people are equal, a country where our economic system works for everybody, a country where the law is followed and applied truly equally.
Q: Is there anything else about Black History that you would like to share?
A: Every February, I try and find a book on black history or biography or whatever that I haven’t read before. On this issue, this month, I’m finishing a book called The Sword and the Shield, which is about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. And I do that for Women’s History Month. I do that for Hispanic Heritage Month. I do that when Pride Week comes up. Go read a book about black people in some capacity, go to an event, a Black History Month event and visit a black church.
