Martin Luther King, Jr. Rosa Parks. Sojourner Truth. Harriet Tubman. Malcolm X.
With February being a month commemorating Black History and the contributions our African American neighbors have made, let us remember that black history is American history. From the earliest days of African presence in the United States, our friends have made enormous contributions in the fields of science, business, civil rights, literature, politics, culture, the arts, music, and much more. However, their road to success was anything but smooth.
In the mid-1500s, Europeans started bringing black Africans to America as slaves. The capture and sale of Africans for the American slave markets were barbaric and often lethal. In America, they were sold at auction to plantation owners, Slave owners could punish slaves harshly - yet despite the hardships, slaves managed to develop a strong cultural identity.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, some blacks gained their freedom, acquired property, and gained access to American society. African Americans, both slave and free also made significant contributions to the economy and infrastructure working on roads, canals, and construction of cities.
By the early 1800s, many whites and free blacks in Northern states began to call for the abolition of slavery. When the Civil War began, many Northern blacks volunteered to fight for the Union. Some people expressed surprise at how fiercely black troops fought. But black soldiers were fighting for more than restoring the Union - they were fighting to liberate their people.
With the defeat of the Confederacy, Northern troops remained in the South to ensure the slaves newly won freedom. Blacks started their own churches and schools, purchased land, and voted themselves into office. By 1870, African Americans had sent 22 representatives to Congress.
But many Southerners soon reacted to black emancipation. When Northern troops left in 1877, the white power structure returned. Within a couple of decades, this power structure succeeded in completely suppressing blacks. African Americans were excluded from voting. Southern states wrote Jim Crow laws that segregated blacks from white society. Blacks lived under constant threat of violence.
Yet, black urban culture blossomed. Musicians like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and King Oliver brought their music north from New Orleans, and these jazz pioneers ushered in Roaring ‘20s. Harlem drew black migrants from the South, and black commerce and culture thrived. After World War I, these migrants found creative energy in the struggle to be blacks and Americans, and this movement became known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Fast forward to today, the United States and the world face daunting challenges. To address them, all of us must be informed and engaged in seeking solutions in our neighborhoods, communities, country, and globally. Let us commemorate the contributions of our African American friends by making our own contributions to positive change.
I recently had the honor of being invited to take part in Stanford University’s Black Lives Matter simulation committee, where I, along with my peers, discussed the many issues that plague our African American neighbors and friends. We debated the causes and effects of their systematic oppression in almost every field imaginable: housing, education, employment, and law enforcement. We discussed ways to address this discrimination, like closing the school to prison pipeline, and encouraging diversity in school, workplaces, and law enforcement agencies. I advocate for my African American friends by being an active member of my school’s Black Student Union and discussing racial issues with my city’s government through the San Jose Youth Commission. I stand with my African American peers in their fight for equality, because their success is our success.
