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Black History Month — a divisive cocktail of class, race, colour
Dr Franklin Johnston
Ahhh… February again, the slave chains rattle on the auction block; it's "I want to disturb my neighbour" month. Why not add white and brown indenture history and disturb everybody? If we continue this racial event, "Out of many one people" will remain a dream. How does race history help us? We must not copy America with no regard for the special circumstances of our people and aspirations. We don't need race-based history. I will move on and not reprise previous articles. But consider this: why would Africans in Africa call themselves black? What was their reference point? Some outsider labelled them. Why would we call our polyglot story "black history"? Why not "Jamaican History Month"? And why is black history a paean of dancers, singers and comedians? Are we all minstrels? Where are our legal, business, academic, and scientific stars, past and present? Black History Month is an intellectual travesty, an insensitive repudiation of our rainbow heritage and we must end it....more
Dr Franklin Johnston
Ahhh… February again, the slave chains rattle on the auction block; it's "I want to disturb my neighbour" month. Why not add white and brown indenture history and disturb everybody? If we continue this racial event, "Out of many one people" will remain a dream. How does race history help us? We must not copy America with no regard for the special circumstances of our people and aspirations. We don't need race-based history. I will move on and not reprise previous articles. But consider this: why would Africans in Africa call themselves black? What was their reference point? Some outsider labelled them. Why would we call our polyglot story "black history"? Why not "Jamaican History Month"? And why is black history a paean of dancers, singers and comedians? Are we all minstrels? Where are our legal, business, academic, and scientific stars, past and present? Black History Month is an intellectual travesty, an insensitive repudiation of our rainbow heritage and we must end it....more
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