During my youth, my father and I would watch the news and together we saw Malcolm X speak about freedom, Martin Luther King Jr. march for civil rights and equality, Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus, National Guardsmen escort the first black students into class at the University of Alabama and Thurgood Marshall talk about winning the Brown vs. The Board of Education case before the Supreme Court.

We also saw black men that were hung from trees, black churches that were bombed and black children that had been murdered. In retrospect, I can now see how what I saw then was news, but now it's black history.

To me, as a black man, I see black history as more than something to celebrate. I also see it as something that is constantly being written and awaiting our contributions. Our contribution can and will come in different forms and to make that contribution, we are not limited to giving speeches, march, get arrested or win a landmark decision before the Supreme Court. One of the most important forms our contributions will take is that of parents because our children are the future of black history; and the moment we became parents we also became co-authors of their contributions. Although we have already written a part of black history we are not finished writing, we still have more to say and how we say it will determine how another part of our history will be written.

One contribution we can make is to tap into our wealth of experience so that we can share that experience with our youth. We know all about where using drugs can take them, where an education can lead them, what a gun can make them and how having respect for others can save them. We have a message to share, however, if we don?t take the time and make the commitment to share that message, it will become a message they will never hear. Just like us, our youth have lessons to learn, in life, and how they learn those lessons will determine their contribution to the future of black history. So by sharing our experiences, we can play a major role in determining whether their contribution will be peaceful or painful.

As we recognize our black history let us also consider the black history of the future; because the black history of the future will not only be determined by what we do, it will also be determined by what we don't do.

Article Source: Written by Kenneth Brown
Email   brown6207@bellsouth.net