This week at work while I was enjoying a cup of coffee, a co-worker playfully chided me for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. In trying to be nice, I said it totally slipped my mind. He says, well it is hard to slip my mind since I am Irish. Precisely. You are Irish and I am not. Bill Cosby would have you believe European Americans do not connect with their heritage, so we should not connect with ours. Wrong! Even if what Mr. Cosby says is true why are white people the standard. Who cares what their practices are. Let them have theirs and we can have ours. There is nothing wrong with that. My co-worker did not question the color of my clothing during Kwaanza or last month while I was celebrating Black History Month. We need to do what we do for our own reasons and not to follow the standard of others. This week we discuss the meaning of holidays!
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The problem we have as a people is we just don't know or we try to celebrate things like the others because it is mainstream. ASK yourself... What do we have as a people that everybody says happy something too? What... Happy Kwanzaa or Happy June teeth or Happy Black History Month or Happy Real McCoy or Happy Gorge Washington Carver Day. What do we have the has cross over in to the mainstream really nothing.. So yes some of else do the Cinco De Mayo or the St. Pat day because many of us are not educated like a few of us to know what is right and what is wrong.
AS Always
ISM OUT.........
Hi ISM,
Thanks for your post. I would love for you to call the show on Sunday so that we can discuss further. Let me attempt to answer your comments briefly here. To your first point we have plenty of historical events that we could say happy something. In fact, for years instead of celebrating the 4th of July, I would celebrate Thurgood Marshall’s birthday which is July 2nd. All of the examples you list that we could celebrate are fine. What is wrong with Happy Black History month? If we can walk around saying Happy St. Patricks’ Day when we do not have any idea who St. Patrick was then we can surely celebrate George Washington Carver. Why was Patrick a saint? If you can not answer this question I say stop celebrating him. What is the significance of the green? What is the significance of the pinching if you do not wear green? Why are black people celebrating something that significance to the Irish? From whose point of view is Patrick a saint?
I see no reason to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. That has absolutely nothing to do with the culture of black people. I can appreciate it. But there is no reason to celebrate it. If you are going to celebrate a country gaining independence it should be a country that has some significance to the history of your people and your culture. If you are educated to these issues I see no reason to celebrate these days. If we need something to celebrate as black people there are many events we can celebrate. How about celebrating Brown vs. Board of Education. How about celebrating the day the Civil Rights Bill was passed. How about celebrating The March on Washington or The Million Man March these are significant events in the culture of African Americans.
They are plenty more from the standpoint of African Americans and they are plenty more from the standpoint of our African heritage.
Let me know what you think
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