And so, it begins. Another month of the annual observance of African American History Month; or as some prefer: Black History Month. Whatever your preference, we understand the recognition of the month as the nation’s attempt to reconcile the past with the present in hopes of ensuring a better future for the people “kissed by the sun,” as some unnamed poet has said of those whose hues stretch across the color spectrum. The cover of the weekly Guide in the Dallas Morning News today reads: “A thoughtful look back.” It is juxtaposed next to a picture of a Black boy staring off into the distance.
I wondered as I looked at the cover. Looking back at what exactly? And for what purpose? Our history in this nation has been looked at and dissected as much if not more than frogs in high school biology classrooms across the country. I mean how much more “looking back” is necessary? With the prevailing impetus within local and state legislatures to rewrite the past of its flaws that account for continuing unaddressed issues of the present, a casual look back seems an empty gesture.
But if the editors are suggesting in a veiled way that looking backward at the history of the people who with their bodies, blood, sweat and tears, unpaid workers, enslaved humans that they were, have yet to know the full meaning of equality, dignity, and opportunity in this nation, then perhaps a look back is another beginning.
Hope springs eternal in the hearts of believers in Jesus Christ. If another month of looking backwards at the good, the bad, the ugly brings us collectively to confessions of truth and commitment to turn in a new direction, to amend wrongs and ensure level playing fields across every spectrum of society going forward, then okay. I’ll take some time to look back, but not a long time. The hourglass sand ran out already.
Love. Joy. Peace.