The Erasing of Black History

This post was written by C. Miller a contributing author to this blog.


I find myself at the end of Black History Month looking around to see what has been put out there for our young people to see of blacks in the U.S. To my disappointment not much different was done. All the same things as last year and the year before etc.

We see all the familiar faces of Black History such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. This is just to skim the top. No one seemed to be interested in the fact that we are living in a moment in time where history is being made. Across the world many people of black decent are coming into positions of power. In the U.S. alone we have Barrack Obama fighting to become the Presidential nominee. We have Condoleezza Rice a woman of color occupying a high level government office and of course Colin Powell, who can forget this great man.

The winds of change are in the air to say the least. To my surprise some change happened in the high school my son attends. February 2007 I found that in Union Endicott High School of Endicott, NY that Black History Month has been erased from the curriculum and no one batted an eye. No one thought to fight for Black History to be kept on the school curriculum. No teachers protested this change and on one made a peep as it was silently removed. At this school Black History went into the night without so much as a whisper. Up until this point no one noticed that it was put to death.

My son, being of mixed African American decent, was unaware of the impact of this particular event. I had to explain to him what it meant to have Black History removed from school. I then stood to explain to my son the richness of his family history. Here is how I laid it out for him; from myself (age 40), to my mother (age 59), to her father (age 79), to his now deceased father who at the time of his death in 1998 was 104 years old. At this point I explained that his great great grand father was a sharecropper in Hawkins Ville Georgia on the same land his parents and grand parents were slaves on. This is a line in history that his school has now negated. Virtually saying to my son, “your history is unimportant and not worthy of the paper on which it would be written.”

He found this to be an unbelievable thing; he said it felt like he was being robbed. That the school had studies on the Holocaust and all kinds of other studies of people. So when did the history of blacks in the US become any less important. This is a question he will be asking his counselor at school to see what the answer will be. I told him not to be surprised if his counselor sweeps it under the carpet in the hopes that it just goes away and that my son forgets about it.

How can the American school system sweep away so many tragic moments in its history along with all the wonderful things that black invented and not even bat an eye? What repercussions will follow in the wake of this action being taken by a public school? Who was it that okayed such a thing being done in the school system? And why were no red flags raised among the teachers and faculty of the school over this?

As a result of asking my son at the beginning of the month what his project for Black History Month was going to be is how this conversation came about. I was excited to help him with whatever the project was going to be, but instead I find that the school has completely removed Black History from the roster.

Attending a Jeff Johnson talk at Ithaca College of NY, I had more questions to ask. I just happened to mention to Mr. Johnson what I thought was something that could happen in schools, the erasing of Black History. Only to come home and talk to my son the next day and hear from him that such a thing had taken place, right under the noses of everyone. It was slipped in nice and quiet so as not to cause a ripple.

Have parents become so complacent as to not notice when huge swaths of American History are being taken away? I have to say on some level yes, because it happened in Endicott, NY. I have to say yes because I was one of those parents. I have to say yes because I have not heard nor have I read of anyone responding to this on any level. The scary thing is that with this coming to light we are now sending our children of color out as sheep among wolves. Their futures hang in the balance and with the rippling effect of what has happened in Endicott NY. For something like this to take hold even on a small level, what can be expected for their futures?

What if they took away Black History Month? - 2.29.2008.1

What if Black History Month was removed? Would anyone have noticed? Would anyone complain?

It seems not.

Why would I say this? Because I just learned that the school system in Endicott New York has removed all Black studies in the curriculum. There was nothing discussed in this past month about Black History, not even Dr. Martin Luther King, because the entire subject was deemed unimportant.

Hello, stop and read that again. Unimportant and having no place in the minds of any of the children, including those that are African American. And this was all done without a single word to the parents, a single complaint from ANY of the students. It was just wiped out without a concern as if it was no more than a piece of errant string found on a piece of clothing.

Why am I upset? What if the school decided not to discuss the Holocaust, or Native American history? What if all the history about England was removed, or France, or Ancient Rome? What if history in schools forgot about President George Washington, just not ever mentioning what he did, or the Constitution?

People would be up in arms. Parents would be inflamed. Jewish communities would claim its anti-Semitic, Native American Indians would say it’s a slap in the face. Whole communities would demand a reason why their rich pasts were being denied their children. Cries that the fundamental based of what is America was being corrupted.

And I ask, in what way is this different? How are the lives and blood of the African Americans that helped build and shape this nation any less important than anyone else? I am not just talking about the Slaves that literally built the foundations of the nation, but the inventors that created thousands of items we use every day, like the stoplight, or save millions of lives, like blood transfusions. How can we value the lives of soldiers like the Tuskegee Airmen, or those that fought in the Civil War, or the American Revolution with any less honor than every other American.

I don’t know how we can equate those lives and contributions as less, but obviously this town in Upstate New York has. I’m willing to bet that they aren’t the only ones. What are the odds that kids in Montana, or Florida, or Ohio, or any other State have no idea about these inventions or people? How many believe that being a slave, less than a dog or piece of furniture, was no different than having trouble getting a job? I know there are more than a few as I’ve read comments that insist that the trouble the Irish had in getting a job was the same as working 20 hours a day for your entire life, with no days off or concern for your health, without pay, and with the reality that at any moment your entire family may be sold away from you and that you can be killed for no more than amusement or the crime of looking at the wrong person.

If we can allow these schools to just toss away a piece of American History, a history of an essential people that helped found and defend this nation, what will go next? Dr. Martin Luther King’s Holiday? A holiday that over half the nation fought from coming into existence, and many still ignore? Maybe the laws dealing with segregation could be next. And if we get that far, why not restate Jim Crow? Hell, just bring slavery back and make it national.

It’s not that crazy. Slavery was just 5 lifetimes ago for some families. Jim Crow was just 2 or 3. Segregation was just 1. And a people without a history aren’t really a people are they?

And this was so important an issue, that not one child mentioned it. Not one parent noticed. Not one meeting was held. It was just understood that it was ok. As long as no one spoke about it, and no one asked why.

So as long as no one asks you if you are Black, or Hispanic, or whatever color, religion, or background you claim, you are nothing. And you can’t hurt nothing. You can’t defend, offend, steal from, brutalize, rape, murder or anything to nothing. And in Upstate New York, that’s what they are equating being African American with. Perhaps the Jews will be next?

Are you nothing? Is your history, your family nothing? Are you sure?

“Don’t learn Black History because of what you know, learn it because of what you don’t know” – C. Miller

I don’t have children. I’m not a teacher or involved in the school system. Maybe that’s a cop out, maybe not. But I am now aware, and so are you. Part of my responsibility is to let you know, and ask for your comments. What will you do?

Contest winner talks about Instinct - 11.13.2007.1

The following is an email I received from one of the winners of the Dinner at the Instinct Restaurant contest. I have not altered this email in any manner, and present it to you verbatim.

I am happy to hear from my contest winners and glad to know when they enjoy the prizes I have provided.

Keep an eye out for my next contest which will award a prize before the end of the holiday season.

Michael Vass – President of M V Consulting, Inc.


I won a certificate to have dinner for two at Instincts in Endicott. I must say this the dinner was superb. We had an appetizer of Fried Calamari to start off with.....Then ordered our dinners I had Crusted Baked Salmon with snow peas and oven potatoes......my fiancé had Jamaican Pork Chops with snow peas and oven potatoes............they were both superb dishes. We had tried each others the Jamaican Pork Chops had a raspberry sauce and it was like when you took a bite it had all the favors come together but not over power each other.........very well blending together. For dessert we ordered Banana Fosters now that was a exploding treat. When you bite into a Banana Fosters it explodes in your mouth its warm, the flavors of inside blend so well with the whipped cream, and chocolate and other sauce believe its caramel that is drizzled on the edges of your plate that you rub your Banana Foster into before you bite into it if you wish..........the whole meal was beyond my expectations. The meal was like a meal from a five star restaurant. I would recommend if you want a superb meal go to Instincts..........We will be going again and soon. We drove a little over two hours away to go I am so glad we went..........Thanks very much Sophia

Dinner give away contest - 9.20.2007.2

In celebration of the 500th post on Black Entertainment USA (http://www.blackentertainmentblog.com), owned by parent company M V Consulting, Inc., a give-away contest has been created in association with the Instinct restaurant and nightclub.

Announced today by M V Consulting, Inc. president Michael Vass, the give-away contest will be open to all visitors of the blogs and websites owned by the Company. Mr. Vass stated,

"I wanted to give something back to all the repeat visitors that have helped the company and all the blogs grow. Without their attention, comments, and word of mouth there would never have been 500 posts seen in over 62 countries each month. That is impressive growth and repeat visits. It just seems to justify what I believe, that giving back to this community is the right thing to do."

The terms of the contest are as follows:

1. The contest will be providing gift certificates for a full meal, with a bottle of wine for those age 21 and older, for 2 at the Instinct Restaurant located in Endicott, NY valued at $75 each certificate.
2. For those that are not in the Greater Binghamton area, or not planning to be in this area to claim their prize, a donation can be made by M V Consulting, Inc. to the organization of the winner's choice (as allowed by the United States law) for an amount equal to the original prize.
3. Contestants need to send an email to Contest@vassconsult.com with the headline or body containing the words "I'm Hungry"

4. Contestants must be 18 years of age to be eligible, no purchase is necessary. Winners must be 21 or older to have any alcohol products.
5. Contest will run from September 24, 2007 to October 14, 2007 at 11:59pm.
6. All emails received must be valid email addresses.
7. Upon notification winners must provide an address where gift certificates can be received. Only 1 address per family is valid for this contest.
8. Winners of contest agree to allow the use of their first name, last name initial and state for promotional purposes by M V Consulting, Inc. and any of its websites.

President Vass went on to say,

"My thanks to all the visitors to all the sites of M V Consulting, Inc. (http://www.mvass.com, http://www.vassconsult.com, http://www.cafepress.com/nova68) including Black Entertainment USA. Good luck to all who participate."

**Review of Instinct restaurant**