African History Month is all twelve months of the year. The term "Black" is a political construct. It came to maturity in the early 1960's when there was diametrical opposition to the white power structure. Our African ancestor, brotha Kwame Toure (formally Stokley Carmichael), is said to have coined the term, "Black Power." But I'm not arguing about the term "Black." Whoever wants to use it can use it. My only point (and this is my opinion) is that there is no "Black History." History is connected to a people, and people are connected to a land. There is no Negro Land, Colored Land, or Black Land, but there is Africa! .
Personally, I don't use the term "Black." Nor do I classify myself as an American. African is my ancestry, America is just my residency. I am an African in America. Remember Brotha Malcom said, "Just because kittens are born in an oven doesn't make them muffins." Being born in America doesn't necessarily make us Americans. And if a brotha or sista live in America long enough, you will discover that "the American dream is a nightmare!" .
I have been blessed to have visited the continent of Africa. I remember when the airplane was about to land. Tears began to stream down my face. I had an overwhelming feeling in my spirit that I was connecting for the first time in my life. When I got off the airplane and my host greeted me, "Welcome home brother," it was an experience I will never forget. Maybe one of the reasons why so many brothas and sistas call themselves "Black" and use the term "Black History" is that they have never connected with Africa. Maybe. I'm not judging. .
I have come to grips with the fact that you should not discuss the fruit without understanding the root. Africa is the mother of civilization. Whenever a true historian wants to go back to the beginning, they have to go to Africa. They have to consider African History first. Our ancestor and scholar, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, was the originator of African History Week.
