Black History is American History: Why Black History Matters

During the taping for the Yahoo event Black History is American History NFL player and best selling author Sam Acho along with ESPN host Elle Duncan, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and Entrepreneur Master P discuss why celebrating Black History Month is important.

Video Transcript

- I wanted to start this discussion with all of your thoughts on Black History Month. How do you feel about Black History Month only being spotlighted during the month of February, the shortest month in the calendar, and why is celebrating Black History Month important to you? I'm going to start with you, Master P.

MASTER P: Yes, Black History Month should be every month. We have accomplished so many things that we are in the background for. And when you see all the product that I have here, it's a lot of people that came before me that made so many amazing things. And they do not get the credit for it. So this is the time we're going to celebrate it. We know that we have a short time to do this, but this is-- we can't change the past, but we can change the future.

- Attorney Foxx, I'm going to come over to you, since you're next up in my panel here on my screen.

KIM FOXX: Look, Black history is American history. The entire fabric of this country was built on the backs of Black Americans, who were brought here on these shores without our permission. And every science innovation, cultural innovation, sports innovation, civil rights movement have been with Black Americans at the forefront.

And so there is no American history without Black history. Despite the fact that we only have 28 days in February, I certainly hope that people recognize that there is no calendar for when we celebrate our greatness, that this is a 365-day endeavor. But the fact that we celebrate this month, we should not, especially in these times, take for granted.

- Elle?

ELLE DUNCAN: Yeah, I would say that the fact that we have to have a Black History Month really speaks to the inequities that we see about what's taught in schools. You know, how many of us would go to school as Black folks during Black History Month and learn something, and then come home and get the actual real deal? And that really extends to Kim's point, 365 days. There's so much that's not being taught in schools. And I think that to pacify many people, the school system many years ago decided, OK, well, we'll sort of introduce this way to celebrate, you know, Black History, and we'll make sure that we really incorporate and hone in on it and talk about all the amazing contributions.

But Black history is not just Harriet Tubman and George Washington Carver. That's happening today. Misty Copeland is Black history. We're seeing Black history made right now with disrupters in the tech world. So I think it would be detrimental to all to assume that Black history means just that. Black history is happening every single day, all around us, all the time. And it really takes curiosity to make sure you're implementing it with your children and in their education 12 months out of the year.

- Sam, what about you?

SAM ACHO: Well, it's funny, I posted something on social media, I started a podcast called Athletes for Justice, talking about what it means to fight for justice in your communities. And we talked about Black History Month. And someone responded, they said, well, why isn't there a White History Month? And my response was, well, White History Month is every other month of the year.

If you just look at history and what we're taught, not only in schools, but even in advertisement and everything we go-- everywhere we go, all you hear about is white history. Rarely do you hear about the Black heroes in science, the Black heroes in military, the Black heroes even in sports. Far before sports were integrated, you rarely hear about these heroes. And so I think the importance of Black history is huge, but as we've all said, it shouldn't be relegated just to one month. Black history is American history, and should be taught every single month of the year.