coloring outside the lines

More Lip Service than Substance in Commitments to Black History
by B. J. Davis
Published in the The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA

Recently, Morgan Freeman stated that black history was American history and implied that there was no longer a need for Black History Month and that the way to improve things was to quit talking about race.

My initial response was "right on," and then I took the time to think about the implications of what he was saying. I became increasingly frustrated and then angry. Frustrated because such an influential African American had made such a statement and angry because the reality is that we do still need a Black History Month.

While I and most African Americans agree with Mr. Freeman that black history is American history, that sentiment does not translate into classroom curricula, mainstream media or majority culture curiosity. Here is a simple test: Who was Benjamin Banneker, Sojourner Truth, George Washington Carver, W.E.B. DuBois, Mary McLeod Bethune, James Langston Hughes and Dr. Charles Drew. Don't recall? Why should you, because few if any of these individuals are part of mainstream elementary school history classes.

While areas with large African American populations and school boards with significant African American representation (for example South Central Los Angeles) are likely to have curricula that include more black history, the same cannot be said for the majority of school districts in the country, which are predominately populated and controlled by white Americans — white Americans who, in many cases, are uninformed or unconcerned about the significant contributions African Americans have made to our great country.

That was no more apparent than in a recent conversation I had with a local school official, in which I was soliciting to have the district participate by having elementary school students write about or draw pictures of historical African Americans figures that then could be displayed during the culminating Black History Month event Feb. 23.

In discussing this with her, I stated that because of a lack of diversity in the San Luis Obispo area, my goal was to increase the community's awareness of the benefits of diversity and to give local African Americans something to feel good about.

Her response was, "We have plenty of diversity in our schools in this area; we just don't have many black people." Though this statement may be "technically" true, it illuminates at least an unawareness and at worst a disregard for the benefits of "diversifying the diversity." The fact that black people's needs and values are invisible in San Luis Obispo County, and thus black students inevitably feel marginalized, seemed just fine with her. And the same, unfortunately, seems to be the case for Cal Poly and even the state of California.

Let me explain what leads me to think so.

As a doctoral intern at Cal Poly, I have conducted and attended several African American cultural events. The significant lack of resources for marketing these events was both surprising and disappointing, and the attendance was worse — by all students, even students of color!

For example, I recently attended a wonderful event that included the poetry of Langston Hughes with accompanying music and relevant historical footage.

In a room set up for 200 people, there were about 30 in attendance and, of those, maybe three or four were students. Of the adults, most were administrators, support staff and their families. The only faculty I saw was the chair of the ethnic studies department. There was no one from music, liberal arts or political science. I saw the same thing with the Katrina Forum, Affirmative Action Day and the Martin Luther King birthday film series. Apparently, they were just not that important.

An even more alarming phenomenon is the lack of response by Californians in light of the devastating effects of Proposition 209 on African American college admissions. In 1970, African American four-year university enrollment was 7.8 percent; in 1980, it was 9.1 percent; and in 1990, it was 11.3 percent. Since the inception of Proposition 209 in 1996, it has dropped to below 6 percent (at Cal Poly, it is around 2 percent). There are few, if any, cases of universities attaining pre-Proposition 209 percentages. And yet, it is still the law, and no one seems concerned. From my vantage point, there is much more lip service in commitments to diversity than substance.

As a psychology intern, what concerns me most are the messages that are being sent by this disinterest in black American history.

The messages, conveyed by inattention, lack of concern and lack of interest are that black people are not important, they do not count, they are insignificant.

The consequences to African Americans can be devastating.

Messages like these contribute to African Americans being disproportionately represented in the poor, uneducated, unemployed, uninsured and incarcerated.

Part of the reason is an ongoing lack of access to the resources that are necessary to be a successful participant in society because of bias, prejudice, discrimination and modern racism. But an additional component is the increasing attitude of young African Americans of, "Why try, no one listens or cares anyway!"

In asking for local elementary school kids to participate in Black History Month, my goal was to increase the community's awareness of the benefits of diversity and to give local African Americans something to feel good about.

My goal in writing this article is the same.

All of us have benefited from the contributions of African Americans in our history. All of us benefit from the presence and contributions of African Americans in our community today. You have an opportunity to celebrate this fact. I hope you don't waste it.

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B. J. Davis holds master's degrees in psychology and counseling. He is completing his doctoral internship at the Counseling Center at Cal Poly.