An Open Letter To Western Education - Let's Ignite African Origin History - Black History

When incorporating the cultures, history, geography and traditions of African Origin (black), Asian and Ethnic Minorities into the school curriculum, it’s important that we choose an appropriate, academic way to refer to African Origin history. Black History simply will not do. Although I understand that many African descendants no longer identify as being African, it nonetheless remains deeply rooted in their minds that they are of African Origin. Their descendants were from the continents of Africa and perhaps Asia. 

The academic world needs to take a step back from such a simplified way of recognizing African history. If colour is so important, why are we all not labelled by colour denomination? Let me explain; there is no such thing as white history, brown history or even olive history. To boil down our history to just the pigmentation of our skin fundamentally belittles all that African origin people have achieved as well as all that African history has to offer. Academia should fulfill its role as a beacon of progressive thinking and take a positive lead in respecting the history, culture and tradition of African descendants. 

Black - an absence of light - has always been a largely negative term, long before, in fact, it was ever applied to dark skinned people from Africa and certain parts of Asia. The roots of the word black are plagued with negative connotations which are linguistically deep rooted within the word. Black on black crime; black death; black plague; black hole; black cat; black humour; blackmail and so on. There is no white on white crime; no white death; no white plague; white mail or white humour. Thus, I hope that when you decide to name 'our' beloved history, traditions, culture and geography, that careful consideration and an appropriate and respectful name is allocated to describe the rich and diverse history of people of African descent.

 We should look at African Origin people in the larger context of their history - not in terms of the pigmentation of their skin. On a psychological level, this will uplift our young students as well as older students of African Origin, and will empower them with a sense of pride and self worth. You cannot know yourself and, how rich and vibrant you are if you do not know where you come from. The negative roots associated with 'black' are not just in the individual mind, they are buried deep within the subconscious - not overt racism - nations see themselves as a result of their experiences of history. This is true when you ask a child what their impression of black is; believe me, it will not be positive. As you well know, ‘black’ people and success are not something that wider institutions seek to show as synonymous. This negative construction of people of African descendants must stop. The black narrative is not an uplifting one and does not help in giving our young children, teenagers and even some adults a sense of self pride and importance. 

 We should also consider the impact of the term 'black history' from a global perspective. It is true that not all terms translate well into other languages and although this should not be the primary focus when we endeavor to make our curriculum more progressive and inclusive. Having said that, would anyone of African origin like to be referred to by the Spanish word for black ' negro' Negro History? I doubt we would. Thus, I believe that this shows how arbitrary the word black is. Black is supposed to encompass all those of African origin as well as people from some parts of Asia. Furthermore, intriguingly, black history seems to be linked only to the Atlantic slave trade, with the connotation that we have not contributed to the world globally apart from our forced labour. This is far from the truth. Collectively, we can make a change - but, this can only happen when we start to acknowledge that words, phrases and tone all play an indicative part in how African Origin / African descendants are viewed by others, and how these views can be internalized.

 Let's bring about a change today!