The origins of Black History Month go back to the influential historian Carter Woodson, who dedicated a week starting on Feb. 7, 1926, to the study, teaching, and remembrance of African American history in America. Later, this week was expanded to the entire month of February, which was when communities would celebrate the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Today, however, Black History Month has all but left history by the wayside, and has more accurately become a propaganda battlefield filled with ideologically charged attacks upon the United States, our Founders, and our principles.
All things from America’s past are being labeled as racist. The ringing announcement in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” is no more than racial doublespeak. Writings such as the infamous 1619 Project instead declare that “our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written.” The American flag? A symbol of oppression. The true story of black history in America has been forgotten, ignored, or covered up. Instead of the facts, we are fed a diet of pre-approved stories about our nation’s past that discount the lives of thousands of black American heroes who played a pivotal role in the creation of this nation from its earliest days. Stories of victors and not victims—of conquers instead of the conquered.
Fundamentally, black heroes are American heroes. The generations before us knew of these brave people, but throughout the rise of progressivism in education led by figures such as Woodrow Wilson, they were systematically removed from textbooks, classrooms, and the public memory, giving preference to a narrative that exclusively preaches a diet of racial conflict. We must recover the true story if we are to enjoy real freedom and unity in this nation.
Before we spend the next month diving into the true record of black history in America, there are several fundamental premises that must be clearly understood. First and foremost: Slavery in all its forms—all across the world and throughout history—is an evil institution. It strips men and women of their natural, God-given, inalienable rights. We should all be abolitionists—especially when considering the ongoing slavery around the globe today, which is an even bigger problem than it was at the height of the Antebellum South.
Second: Many people today don’t know the true, factual history of our nation’s past as it relates to slavery and black history. The solution to this is to teach the real, verifiable, and complete story, which includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. Too often, partisan activists fall into a ditch on either side of the road, focusing only on the bad or vice versa. The fact of the matter is that throughout its history, the United States has led the world in the fight for freedom and emancipation. If not for the ideas and principles of the American War for Independence, slavery would have been more widespread and practiced without opposition for many more years.
Lastly: Fundamentally, the story of all humanity is often one of suffering, oppression, and tyranny. As the Christian Scriptures aptly observe, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Evil is common, so the historical anomaly is when humans, in spite of their nature, overcome evil and instead advance liberty, freedom, and equality. Such moments, due both to their rarity and instructive nature, ought to be highlighted and celebrated rather than ignored.
It’s those moments that define American history. From the moment the first governing document was written in North America by the Pilgrims in the hull of the Mayflower, the tree of liberty has taken root and grown stronger and taller than anywhere else in the history of the world. America’s story isn’t one of slavery, but of the defeat of slavery. It isn’t one of oppression, but of victory over oppression.
Next week, I‘ll talk about the real story of 1619—what it was, and what it wasn’t. Then I’ll take a look at the radical effect the Revolutionary War had in undermining slavery in America. For the final week of Black History Month, we‘ll examine a few of the black heroes of the American Civil War and their perspectives on the American flag—the flag that leftists today label as a racist symbol. My hope is that, by the end of this month, you’ll have a deeper understanding of black history in America and a newfound respect for the liberties and freedoms that are so dear to us as a nation.
