KING: Black history is American history FEBRUARY 01, 2022
February 2, 2022 | Georgia
Black History Month should remind us that we should never forget our past, yet moving ahead, our focus must be on uniting as one America
Every February, America acknowledges Black History Month. Consequently, a recurring debate emerges, the question being, “why do we need to set aside this calendar occurrence?” My America First Policy Institute colleague Ken Blackwell gives a pertinent response: Black history is American history.
Meanwhile, today American life faces an ongoing challenging yet not insurmountable reality; purveyors of division constantly weaponize a false racial premise by equating racial identification to skin color, all in a cynical effort to divide our communities.
Of course, “skin color racism” has no scientific basis, nor is it relevant to the human persona. Nevertheless, the perpetrators of this dogma of division push even further toward a dangerously erroneous conclusion: America is the worst place for Blacks and other minorities to live. This outlook is false and dangerous — and it betrays the very principles the greatest Nation on earth was founded upon.
Where did the term “people of color” originate, anyway? All human pigmentation has some hue. Nobody’s skin is the exact color of a sheet of copy paper or a lump of coal. When we continue to search for different euphemisms to define — and therefore box in — the Black community, we overlook the simple scientific and spiritual truth that there is only one race, the human race.
While skin color may denote ethnic origins in some cases, skin color does not determine the “race” of the human species. To state the truth clearly, there is only one human race. By turning skin color into a lightning rod of division, we are turning a blind eye to the God-given gift of ethnicity. Far beyond skin color, the wonderful varieties of ethnic culture are beautifully reflected throughout humanity.
Perhaps my uncle, the patriot, and preacher Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream gives insight:
“I still have a dream. It is deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”… (Excerpts from America First Policy Institute and Fox News)
