SENTINEL WATCH February 16, 2004 Issue

My new view of history

By Earline Shoemake

February is Black History Month in the United States. What a history that is! History is what has happened in the life or development of individuals, a people, a country, even institutions. In this case, the history being celebrated is of blacks who have come from living in slavery to freedom. This month we've been seeing television programs, plays, films, and many accounts attesting to this deliverance.

When African Americans' freedom from the slave market first occurred, many people of all races rejoiced and saw it as quite a victory. And it was. Of course, today we also hear that blacks still have "a way to go" in the realization of their equal rights.

I was brought up in the US before the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964—and my views concerning progress in equality were limited. I thought it would be a long time before things would change for the better. I had even heard it said that history repeats itself. This did not mean that the whipping post would return, literally, but that oppression would rise up in other ways. For example, when I was growing up, blacks were often denied equal educational facilities, and had to struggle with limited job opportunities and unfair housing practices.