The Exodus of Black History Month: Why there is work to do

By Richard Montgomery

Celebrating the accomplishments of Black people in America is necessary, but celebrating without acknowledgment of Black misery says that we have become myopic in our views of progress. I heard one of my mentors, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, speak last November about “living a life of significance.” In his message, he stated that it is easy for Black people to get caught up in the joy of electing a Black President while losing sight of the fact that we still have work to do. When I wrestle with what Black progress means, I have to view progress alongside factors associated with quality of life in America: the economic, criminal justice, and educational systems. 

When we look at the statistics associated with the economic progress of Blacks in America, the issues of income and employment illustrate the inequities continually experienced by our community. In 2010, the national rate of unemployment for African Americans was 17.2 percent, and in five states (Alabama, Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, and Michigan), the rate was higher than 20 percent. A portion of this percentage can be explained by the current recession; however, the unemployment rate for White Americans was 8.6 percent during the same time span, demonstrating a significant racial divide in employment opportunities.  This disparity also explains why one in four African Americans is living in poverty. When we look at income statistics for working Americans, more than 50% of Black people earn less than $35,000 per year while nearly 70% of White Americans earn more than $35,000 per year. The numbers are even more astounding when we compare families that earn six figure salaries. Nearly 11% of White Americans earn six figure incomes, but only 3% of Black families earn that much per year. 

When it comes to the criminal justice system, statistics show that African Americans are more likely to receive the least effective representation in the court system and are the most likely to be imprisoned or murdered. Over the years, repeated studies have shown that “public defenders, who are most likely to be assigned to poor and minority defendants, are inexperienced, underpaid, overworked, and largely indifferent to their clients’ plight.”   Other studies suggest that racial bias is a factor in how prosecutors handle cases. When we consider this phenomenon, combined with the 1 in 4 African Americans living in poverty, it brings some relevance to the high number of African Americans who are incarcerated. As of 2008, nearly one million of the 2.2 million Americans incarcerated were African American. Over the last several years, Black people have accounted for about 50% of all murders in the United States, and Black males account for more than 50% of the nation’s more than 13,000 male homicide victims although Black people compose only 13% of America’s population.

It goes without saying that access to a quality education is the one factor that can reduce poverty and many of the injustices in the criminal justice system, however African American students, when compared to any other group, have the lowest levels of educational attainment at the secondary and postsecondary levels. In high school and college, Black students graduate at a rate of about 40%. When we consider that there are enough African American people without a high school diploma to fill many of our major cities in the United States, it is clear that low educational attainment, along with economics and criminal injustice will serve to further subordinate our future generations.

Celebrating African American progress in the United States allows us to reflect on our achievements, but we must also critically examine what it means to be Black in America in the twenty-first century. We should use Black history month as a gauge to measure our progress not just from century to century or from decade to decade, but also from year to year. We cannot bask in celebration of a Black President when so many people earn so little while working so hard or when so many die young in their communities or behind prison walls, or when we have an educational system that is effective for some but not all citizens.  It is time to stop pacifying ourselves and realize that our rights and progress hang on a very thin thread.  When you think of celebrating Black History Month each year, ask yourself whether we are celebrating history or true progress.