“Intolerance of Intolerance” Diversity Corner
Beyond This Place…There Be Dragons!
Scott Warrick, JD, MLHR, SPHR
HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING, EMPLOYMENT LAW & TRAINING SERVICES
(614) 367-0842 – Office
(614) 738-8317 – Cell
www.scottwarrick.com
FEBRUARY 2007
Carter G. Woodson
Founder of Black History Month
It’s February, which means it is Black History Month, and once again, the controversy has started. A
survey, conducted by MSN and Zogby International, found that 43 percent of Americans believe that
setting one month aside each year to focus on Black History is a token gesture, while 39 percent say
that is an opportunity to raise awareness of African-American history and accomplishments. (18
percent were not sure)
Is Black History Month a valuable way for everyone to learn more about African-American history,
which is clearly an essential part of American history? If we are really going to “educate … educate …
educate” ourselves more about each other, is this a good way to do it? Not everyone thinks so.
The “Journal of Blacks in Higher Education” described Black History Month as:
“simply a guilt-driven public relations scam to pacify blacks who otherwise
receive no attention on the bread and butter issues of education, jobs, and health
care.”
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Polls focusing on the opinions of African-Americans vary as well. The same MSN and Zogby
International poll found that 28 percent feel that dedicating only February to black history is a token
gesture. Celebrities Morgan Freeman and Bill Cosby have spoken out against it. Mr. Freeman
specifically stated in a “60 Minutes” interview:
“I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.”
Yet, the majority of African-Americans, 64 percent, say Black History Month is a good way to raise
awareness of Black history and accomplishments. Undoubtedly, this entire debate would have drawn a
contemplating nod from Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History Month. (See photo on
previous page.)
Carter G. Woodson was born in 1875, the son of former slaves. By the age of 17, he was working as
an unschooled coalminer. Despite these humble beginnings, he went on to earn a doctorate in history
from Harvard University.
In 1915, Woodson and several friends in Chicago established the “Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History.” Today, it is called the “Association for the Study of African-American Life and
History” and it is the official voice of Black History Month. (ASLAH’s website can be found at
http://www.asalh.org/ )
In 1926, Woodson created Negro History Week. Over the decades, interest in Negro History Week
grew. By the late 1930s, “whites in the north who were in control of certain kinds of institutions,
libraries and universities started celebrating, too,” said Daryl Michael Scott, the chairman of history at
Howard University. Mayors and governors also began to officially recognize Negro History Week,
aware that African-American voters were important to their futures.
Woodson’s inspiration for designating February as the month for Negro History Week came from the
births of both Frederick Douglass (the revered African-American speaker who fought to end slavery)
and President Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson, who died in 1950, was proud of his accomplishments. “No other single thing,” he said, “has
done so much to dramatize the achievement of persons of African blood.”
“There are a lot of people who think you get Black History Month because of the black power
movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s,” says Scott. But it was the evolution of Negro History Week that
became, by presidential proclamation, Black History Month in 1976.
Still, Woodson hoped that one day there would no longer be any need for Negro History Week and that
black history would be taught every day as part of the study of American history. He also wanted
separate black history studies at the higher levels of education, Scott says.
Even before his death, in the 1940s, Woodson was unhappy with the way things were going with Negro
History Week. He spoke out against shallow celebrations and self-aggrandizing statements. Today,
there are complaints that our consumer culture and the corporate world are using Black History Month
strictly for commercial purposes, Scott says. Woodson would be appalled.
Bruce Slater, the managing editor of “The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education,” wasn’t surprised by
the MSN/Zogby Poll numbers. “I think generally in an ideal world we wouldn’t need a Black History
Month. It would be great if we didn’t have to set aside a month to highlight the contributions of
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African-Americans,” he says. “It would be nice if it was more fully incorporated with American history
in general.”
More and more, African-American scholars are beginning to resent the fact that in February “their
opinions are sought out, and then they are ignored the rest of the year. Some black scholars refuse to
lecture in February because of that,” Slater says.
Sarah Willie, an associate professor at Swarthmore College, told the “San Francisco Chronicle” in
2006, “It was certainly a good starting place, but it was absurd to reduce any particular group’s history
to one month of motivational speeches.”
Despite the controversy, Scott, of Howard University, says: “African-Americans have and will
celebrate black history as long as they find their common identity important to themselves. A good
society is like a good marriage. You gotta work on it.”
The bigger problem, according to many, is the American public’s lack of knowledge of history overall.
“Stop asking whether there’s too much black history and start grappling with the fact that there’s too
little American history,” Scott says.
Discussion Questions
 What is your opinion on Black History Month?
 Have we gotten to the point where most Americans believe Black History is an
important part of American History … so it is no longer needed?
 If Black History Month was abolished, what would be the reaction?
 Did you learn anything new this Black History Month?
For More Information, Go To: www.scottwarrick.com
© 2007 G. Scott Warrick
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“Intolerance of Intolerance”
Diversity Awareness Corner
February 2005
Black and African-American Inventors
Elijah McCoy invented the mechanism by which machines in motion can be lubricated,
thus making him one of the “Fathers of the Industrial Revolution.” The term "Real
McCoy" refers to the oiling device used for industrial machinery. His contribution to the
lubricating device became so popular that people inspecting new equipment would ask if
the device contained the “Real McCoy.”
How have the inventions of blacks and African-Americans
improved YOUR daily life?
You might be surprised…
Take A Look!
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Alexander Miles
Alice Parker
Elevator and safety device for elevators.
October 11, 1887
Heating Furnace
1918
Augustus Jackson
Ice cream
1832
Dr. Charles Drew
Established the Blood Bank System Around
The World. Devised method for separating
plasma from whole blood.
1940
Edmond Berger
Spark Plug
Frederick Jones
Air Conditioner. Patent # 2475841
Frederick Jones
Portable X-Ray Machine
G.T. Sampson
Clothes Drier
1892
Pioneered the use of peanuts in making
industrial products … making peanuts a new
“cash crop” in America
1900
George Washington
Carver
Henry Sampson
J.B. Winters
Cellular Phone
Lawn Mower
John Standard
Refrigerator
Manley West
July 6, 1971
Fire Escape Ladder
John Burr
Joseph N. Jackson
July 12, 1949
Jul 14,1894
Programmable Remote Control
Discovered compound in cannabis
to treat glaucoma.
1980-1987
Norbett Rillieux
Sugar Refining System
1846
Onesimus
Small Pox Inoculation
1721
Paul E. Williams
Richard Spikes
T. Elkins
Thomas Carrington
Thomas J. Martin
Helicopter
Automatic Gear Shift
Toilet
1897
Range Oven
1876
Patented the Fire Extinguisher
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March 26, 1872