Re: "Black History Month has had its day," Reflections, Feb. 17. For years, Cynthia Tucker, former editorial page editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, has aired opposition to Black History Month. While her sentiment that "black history" be taught as an integral part of U.S. history is laudable, it's impractical.
Without a special time set aside for the study of the history of the African, particularly after his capture and subsequent bondage in the West, common sense informs us that there will be less study of the history of people of African descent rather than more. If the amalgamation of peoples in the United States were real, we would have never needed "Negro History Week" or its progeny, "Black History Month." We wouldn't have needed "Brown vs. Topeka," the Voting Rights Act or any of the other special remedies to mitigate the oppression of people of color in America.
The truth is that our history was purposefully hidden and distorted to cover up horrific crimes. This makes it possible for people to minimize their effects on society and thus be ignorant of effective solutions. Therefore both blacks and whites need to know the record.
At a time when black studies and other ethnic studies are being attacked and suppressed, such as in Arizona, Tucker's ideas are wrongheaded and counterproductive.