This is the last day of Black History Month, and, contrary to a recent SNL joke, it’s not a month to suffer through. It’s actually something we need to keep fighting to protect and expand.
President Obama not only won two historic elections, but he also changed how we will remember history. Before, the National Park Service did not focus much on Black History. Then, Birmingham Civil Rights, Charles Young, Fort Monroe, Freedom Riders, Harriet Tubman (NY), Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad, MLK Memorial, Port Chicago, Pullman, Reconstruction Era, and more parks are proud parts of his legacy. President Biden designated the Emmett Till site and New Philadelphia, and he supports this legacy.
Now, many of the parks devoted to subjects in Black History are underfunded, in disrepair, understaffed, unfairly criticized, and often closed. While statues of Confederates are carefully attended by landscapers 365 days per year, the Tuskegee Institute is closed, Frederick Douglass’ home is closed, and the Freedom Riders monument is little more than an outside mural and a couple small plaques. Desperately needed renovations are underway in many places, but, as someone who has been to over 365 park units in the past two years, including all Black History related parks, the Black History park sites are woefully unequal to the rest of the sites.
History can be told well, but if we aren’t vigilant, it can be erased. I encourage you to visit some of these parks too. Some of them I wrote about on this site: Ode to Unconscious Cruelty, Road to Abolition and Hate, Injustice & Courage. Others I’ve left on my own site: Road to Equal Education and Black History Month. I can’t make you read or care about this history, but if you don’t care, there’s no guarantee that this important history will be preserved or told accurately going forward. And if we lose our history, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. Thanks.