Black History Month is at once a time for celebration and solemn reflection. I say so because the achievements of black America are best understood against a background of struggle and adversity from which remarkable strides have been made.
Black History Month in fact teaches us that we must never give up on our dreams. It seems remarkable, but it wasn’t very long ago that the right to vote, and even the right to live as free men and women in our own country, was nothing more than a dream of our ancestors.
I am certain that one day, the dream of Martin Luther King Jr., a dream of mutual respect and equality which inspired millions of men and women around the world will one day become a reality.
The dream of Mary McLeod Bethune, often called the “First Lady of the Struggle” because of her influence on the Roosevelt administration, was the promise of American Democracy. Here is what she said about her dream:
“Under God’s guidance in this great democracy, we are rising out of the darkness of slavery into the light of freedom. Here my race has been afforded the opportunity to advance from a people 80 percent illiterate to a people 80 percent literate; from abject poverty to the ownership and operation of a million farms and 750,000 homes; from total disfranchisement to participation in government; from the status of chattels to recognized contributors to the American culture.”
The history of black America is, indeed, the history of America at large. Our struggles for equality and self-determination have ever tested the nation’s resolve to abide by its founding principles while America has seen no greater or more direct manifestation of the democratic spirit than in the paths our ancestors blazed, against all odds, for a seat at the table of justice.
Their memory is what motivates me everyday as I strive to make New York State government more inclusive and accountable to its people.
Even today, our Democracy is being tested. And it is failing.
Nonetheless, I am optimistic we can change that. By pushing for meaningful reforms - even in the face of resistance, doubt, and powerful interests - we can put the people’s agenda first. We can once again be a vehicle for progress and change, just as so many before us have been.
African-Americans have been transforming dreams into reality since colonial times, maintaining our values and our hope despite discrimination, violence and hardship. Black History month provides us the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices of the past, and in our dreams for the future as well.
Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as Negro History Week and later as Black History Month. We owe the celebration and, more importantly, the study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a noted African-American scholar and historian who hoped that the initiative would encourage Americans to study their ethnic roots and develop respect for one another.
Woodson chose February for this uplifting observance because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced African-American lives: Frederick Douglass, one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, and Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
But February holds other important milestones worth recalling. In February 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed, granting African-Americans the right to vote. In February 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in New York City.
Indeed, our history is filled with monumental milestones. For instance, Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to enter space when she served on the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1992. The following year, Toni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first African-American to win the coveted prize. And Hank Aaron, who set a Major League record for most home runs in a career, received the Medal of Freedom in 2002 to honor his achievements and his victories over poverty and racism.
The list, of course, goes on and on, month by month, year by year.
The brave leaders who came before us lived by, and died for, their dreams. I hold fast to the dream of a united America, made real through a landscape of peace and understanding. For as Langston Hughes so wisely declared, “Hold fast to dreams for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen in snow.”
Now is the time to trot out a new course for black Americans to fulfill their dreams and strengthen their faith. Today’s good works can ensure that the pathways of tomorrow remain sound and unobstructed, providing trusted guidance and direction.
State Senator Malcolm A. Smith represents the 14th District
