Black History Month was never ‘given’ to Black people, thus, it can never be taken from us

The question of who owns and authorizes the month holds particular relevance amid attacks on Black history in the US There is a myth that persists about Black History Month that can be heard in the common gripe: “They gave us the shortest month of the year” (they, the unnamed powers that be). Jarvis Givens, the author of I’ll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month, hates it. “Every time I hear that backhanded comment it doesn’t seem right,” said Givens, an associate prof...

By Saida Grundy