Quote Originally Posted by thatcoolguy_22 View Post
I agree with you entirely when you say it is my personal reality. In fact my friends and I often felt isolated and pointed out whenever feb would come around. I have had countless discussions and debates throughout both highschool and college over the merits of black history month.

Also I appreciate you for pointing that out. People often are quick to jump down my throat any time I speak out against BHM. It does make sense what you were saying about people in Portland and other places with a predominantly white community to learn the history through the eyes of someone other than the majority in society.

Basic black contributions that I am extremely proud of that often do not receive their proprer recognition:

1)Dr. Carter G. Woodson- parents were both former slaves. Did not begin highschool in Kentucky until the zge of 20. Went on to receive his PhD from Harvard. It's safe to say that he is the man who is responsible for there being as much information out today about the history of black america.

2)Hiram Revels- The first black U.S. senator in Mississppi. I want to say late 1860's early 1870's not positive though. I'll edit later.

3)Benny Andrews- Benny Andrews (November 13, 1930 - November 10, 2006) was an American painter, print-maker, creator of collages and educator. He was born November 13, 1930 in Plainview, Georgia and died November 10, 2006 in Brooklyn, New York.

Andrews was an African American who was one of 10 children of sharecroppers and was raised in the Southern United States while it was still segregated. He was the first in his family to graduate from high-school and then Andrews went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Afterwards, the G.I. Bill of Rights afforded him training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His first New York solo show was in 1962. From 1968 to 1997 Andrews taught at Queens College, City University of New York and created a prison arts program that became a model for the nation. He was the director of visual arts for the National Endowment for the Arts, 1982 to 1984. In 1983 he was instrumental in helping form The National Arts Program which today is the largest coordinated visual arts program in the nation's history.

Benny Andrews was a figural painter in the expressionist style who painted a diverse range of themes of suffering and injustice, including The Holocaust, Native American forced migrations, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina. Other influences on his work include Anti-Modernist American Scene painting, Surrealism, and Southern folk art. His work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana.


link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Andrews


easier to let everyone read everything than for me to summarize


4)William h Johnson- Artist. The smithsonian has a guide and offer lessons just on his work alone. Amazing artist


Almost everyone knows of the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman, and George Washington Carver but, These individuals deserve much more notoriety than what they have achieved.
Now see, I wouldn't have known any of that if the subject of Black History Month hadn't come up