February is Black History Month and although this doesn’t get a lot of recognition, it is important to remember our history. I love black history. I love the people who have lead the African-American community throughout its history. African-American history is a great saga of the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness and its characters are great warriors of freedom and justice. African-American history is American history and its heroes are America’s heroes. I like the idea of setting aside one month of the year to remember these great men and women who have overcome disadvantages and setbacks to pursue freedom and build better lives for themselves and for their children. I have highlighted some of these characters and I intend to highlight many more. Here are some links to blogposts I have written on black history:
Click here to read about Madam C.J. Walker, female African-American entrepreneur and social activist.
Click here to read about Martin Luther King Jr. the foremost leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
Click here to read about Hiram Revels, the courageous African-American leader who became America’s first black senator.
Click here to read about Frederick Douglass, the formidable and passionate abolitionist.
Click here to read about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Click here to read about the Greensboro Sit-ins.
Click here to read “Reflections on Civil Rights”.
In closing, I would like to share a poem I wrote in honor of black history month about heroes from African-American history. I’ll admit that the meter and ryhming isn’t perfect but I hope it conveys the admiration I have for these men and women. I have titled it, “Heart of Abel, Shade of Cain”.*
Heart of Abel, Shade of Cain,
Courageous lives, marred by pain,
The Lion, King, stands serene,
But roars he loudly, ‘I have a dream!’
Breedlove, like a flower grows,
Seeds of Justice, hope she sows,
Douglass, dark storm cloud,
An able freeman, strong and proud,
Smalls, devout and bold,
Lives adventures far untold,
Hiram! Hiram! So great yet meek,
Sitting in old Jefferson’s seat,
Lemuel, preaching by Holy Wind,
Loving God and hating sin,
Sitting solidly, the Greensboro Four,
Usher tyranny to the door,
Rosa, dear Rosa! Small and frail,
Will ride that bus, if she goes to jail,
Hearts of Joshua, Shade of Cain,
Courageous lives, freedom gain
*Cain, here is actually a mistake in retrospect. After I wrote this poem I realized that it should be “Shade of Ham”, after the alleged biblical ancestor of the African-American ethnicity. By the time I came to this realization, however, the poem was written and “Ham” didn’t work in the same way that “Cain” did. I hope you’ll ignore this discrepancy and enjoy the poem anyway.