In an article written for TheRoot.com, Michael E. Ross asks, "In the Obama era, what's the rationale for separating black history from American history?" In my opinion, he has lost sight of the importance of the celebration in the first place.  Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and other advocates for this recognition were motivated by a desire to include the history of black contributions to our society, not to separate our history from American history.  Their success overcame centuries of separating our history from American history.

He goes on to say, "The fact of President Obama necessarily calls into question the long-standing African-American preoccupation with life in that rearview mirror. . . it does make the reflexive reverence of Black History Month seem like what it’s fast becoming: an observance with an existence that reinforces a sense of apartness, of separation, that Obama’s election directly contradicts."

Somehow he fails to understand the long path that we have trod to overcome the "sense of apartness, of spearation" that Du Bois and Woodson worked so hard to overcome.  For those of us old enough to remember the separation of Jim Crow laws, and the "separate but equal doctrine", our reverence for this month is not reflexive, but reinforces our resolve to INCLUDE our contributions and progress.

He asks, "To what degree do we tarnish the spirit of black American history by holding it apart from the rest of a society it was meant to interact with?"  There is no tarnish at all on the contributions of black Americans.  Instead, there is a bright light shining where there was once darkness.  For those who share Michel's thinking, we say that we are not holding our history apart with this celebration.  Rather we are insisting that our history should be included and never again relegated to the darkness from which we have pulled it.  

 Michael E. Ross believes, "The election of Barack Obama called on America to rethink its idea of the national future, and, similarly, it called on black Americans to rethink their relationship with history and its true value."  Quite the opposite is true.  Obama's success becomes a part of the rich history of black contributions to our society.  Our history doesn't stop with his achievement, but continues with another very important chapter.