Black History is British history. It’s universally agreed that Black History Month is a time to celebrate the rich culture and traditions of black people across the world. But should black history be celebrated on only one month of the year? Black History is British history, so why not celebrate all year round? Well, some would argue that it is recognized all year round and October is simply a time to come together and celebrate black history whilst it’s in the forefront of people’s minds. Whilst others believe that one month is not enough and Black History Month should be abolished completely, leaving black history to be celebrated all year round.

 

A commonly held belief is that Black History month is a way of educating people on the rich culture and horrific history that black people have been through. Harmony Murray, who is of Caribbean descent, believes that the month “allows people to become well educated on the horrific history that these people have endured,” she went on to say that “it also allows us to ensure the end of discrimination against black people because of the colour of their skin.” Clearly, Black History Month is an important time of year for Harmony, and she shares the belief that “People should educate themselves on these pressing matters all year round,” however she also believes that “a month is just right, any longer and people would get sick of it; any shorter and people wouldn’t be aware of it.” Is a month is enough time to educate yourself on Black History?

 

Isabelle Laye-sion who is a part of the black community disagrees; she believes that “Black history should be celebrated all year round.” For Isabel it is important that the celebration of Black History is a way of encouraging and celebratig the equality of all races and ethnicities. She believes that when the celebration of black history takes place within only one-month, black history is “forgotten for the rest of the year,” and as a school child she finds it “embarrassing for people to point you out on one month of the year and label you as different when it should be acknowledged that all people are equal.” No one should be seen as different because of the colour of their skin, and if Black History month causes that to happen, is it always a positive?

 

It is clear that people within the black community have very different opinions of Black History Month. The one clearly shared belief is that celebrating black history is a vital part of encouraging equality an educating people on the rich history and culture of the black community. What do you think? Should black history be celebrated within only one month, or should it be celebrated all year round? Whatever the answer, we can all agree that black history is British history and we should all embrace new cultures, beliefs and traditions because you never know, you might learn something new.