David C. McCullough once said “ History is a guide to navigation in perilous times . History is who are what we are and why we are the y we are” .That is what black history month is all about , finding our path in life as a black community. The importance of black history month lies in the fact that ; it is that time of the year when we as a community come together and give honor to the black men and women who were burned ,beaten and torn apart just so we could be here today .Black history month is the celebration of our race , its roots ,its harsh past , fair present and its promising future. It is looking back at our roots , where we originated from and saying yes we came threw the storm now the sun shall rise.



Maya Angelou writes “ For Africa to me….is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth . No man knows where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place ”. Meaning black history month is important in educating the new black generation as to where they came from , reminding them of MAMA AFRICA , were they were bore . Reminding them they – we are the hope and dream of the slave. With understanding of this the new generation can better their understanding of the present and rise to the standards of the future . For as Martin Luther King said “ The Negro is the child of two cultures –Africa and America . The problem is that in the search for wholeness all too many negroes seek to embrace only one side of their natures” . And black history month is the tie to embrace the African side , because we often accept the American side and reject the African , the side the makes us who we are; black people. And black history month is important in helping accepting that part of us which we reject.



In summary , Black history month also American history month, because black history is American history. The black community has shaped every aspect of the America Society. Its culture , development as nation. Cornel West wrote in “Race Matters” “Black people have always been Americas wilderness in search of a promise land” .But have we been Africa’s wilderness in search of a promise land ? we all know the answer to that. The importance of black history month is to educate our community as to where we are from , how we got here and were we going. And for us to shout out loud the love for our color and say I’m proud to be African American , most of all AFRICAN , for our nation and community is made of greatness.