By Dr. John E. Warren, Writer, The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint
Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the work he left behind definitely makes the case in the present day for the examine of Black Historical past. With out his work most of us wouldn’t know who we’re or what number of issues we now have finished to contribute not solely to this nation but additionally to mankind. For 195 years, the Black Press has been a guardian and transmitter of our historical past. When it was in opposition to the legislation to show a slave to learn and write, the Black Press was already telling our story to those that might learn or simply hear as others learn to them.
Oh, how far we now have come. At this time we now have the liberty to learn, however too few of us are studying. Social media and its abbreviated written language, together with tv and the web, have changed our need too typically to even open a e book. However now, greater than ever, is the time to as soon as once more add studying to studying and following our historical past within the making. The Black Press not solely carries our historical past and tales, persevering with the work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, however our press has prolonged our tales to the digital world offering information and information that we will depend on coming from our “trusted messengers”. However none of this works if we don’t take the time to embrace, learn and digest the written story of our previous and current, as instructed by us.
Our newspapers have survived due to “us” and never due to the big advert accounts we by no means had. We by no means had the big grocery retailer, department shops and vehicle dealership accounts. We by no means had the big newsrooms, printing presses and classifieds accounts that made white papers wealthy. However we continued to inform our story with the assistance of so many people who volunteered companies and time to share our tales with these amongst us.
This Black Historical past Month might be one of the crucial necessary in our historical past. We’re below assault as Jim Crow racism strikes on voter suppression within the type of decreasing voting websites and tools, and changing true election officers with those that have purchased The Massive Lie that Trump continues to be President. We should communicate fact to energy as we remind our brothers and sisters of the racism of voter denial, the counting of jelly beans in a jar as permission to vote, and the push for what White Conservatives are calling “Vital Race Idea” as a way of re-writing our historical past with out racism and lynchings which they imposed upon us.
In the event that they cross legal guidelines to limit our voting, then we, because the Black Press and Media, should use “Print” and “digital” means to remind us of why historical past says we will’t permit these with such practices to cease us. We should ignite the perseverance of our historical past to rise in numbers above the challenges being positioned earlier than us. We should grow to be so laser targeted that our lives and the lives of those that agree with us out quantity our opponents. President Biden is barely a logo of what we’re struggling for: to maintain America an inclusive democracy. It’s as much as us to reignite the spirit and religion of our fathers that introduced us this far in order that we don’t lose floor. It comes all the way down to “Our Historical past, Our Print and You”. We should write our story, in the present day which will likely be our historical past tomorrow, and we should be sure that we’re included in telling our personal tales.
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