Black History Month
Believe
me when I say,
Black
people have contributed to this country in a very significant way.
They
have been around a very long time,
fighting
for King and Queen, right there on the front line.
They
have worked in hospitals,
and
driven the country’s buses.
But
despite these contributions,
we
are often asked what all the fuss is.
Why
do we bother with Black History Month each year?
is
a call I regularly hear.
A
good response I have often heard
consists
of these coherent words.
Because
a people without history makes them invisible,
hard
to see their contributions to the UK.
It
erases their existence and their experience,
making
discrimination seem right and OK.
We
need the awakening consciousness of our history as our guiding tutor,
providing
our children with a brighter future.
We
need to remember that history belongs to the world;
we
need the contributions of Black people to be unfurl’d.
Egyptians
were black; the Pharaohs built pyramids to the sky.
We
can’t collude with this massive lie.
The
myth that Black people are recent arrivals,
the
untruths that they just came to England to preserve their survival.
There
is a gap, you see, in the education system.
Therefore,
Black history month provides the opportunity for people to listen.
It
promotes equality and tackles unlawful discrimination.
It
provides us all with forgotten information.
It
reminds us that black people have been here since the 16th C;
It
allows black young people to feel proud and to feel free.
Free
to tell the stories of their forefathers’ hard graft;
it
puts a marker down for the future. And the past.
It
helps Black young people to clearly identify
and
to help them see beyond the historical lies.
The
fact is Black people are successful,
they
are creative and strong.
Black
History Month provides them with an annual platform
to
be seen. And to belong
So all
of you that shout loudly that Black History month is a ‘waste of time’.
need
to see that it’s an opportunity for people of colour to stand out and to shine
It is
a time to right the inequalities of the past;
to
big up the contributions of Black people, at long last.
EVERY
day is a Black History Day.
A
month does not show the progress in its entire array
However,
a month does take the contributions of Black people from the shade,
from
underneath the rocks, where forgotten memories are laid.
The
month shows unity where before, this was forbidden.
It
finally showcases the contributions where before, they were hidden
And
it writes our history where before, it was untold
It
leaves a legacy for our young people. To have and to hold
Alyson Malach
