As many of you may know, February is Black History Month. But did you know that there is a growing backlash against Black History Month, not from Whites but from Blacks? As this CNN article explains,

Like some other top speakers, Price has grown weary of being in high demand for just a few weeks and then often ignored. “I’m not going to be, as the kids say, ‘pimped’ during the month of February,” Price said. A few years ago, Price said, he was inundated with speaking requests. Then he realized that “black people were visible during February, but the other 11 months of the year we became the invisible people.” He isn’t a lone rebel: Twenty-nine years after Black History Month was officially designated by the federal government, something of a backlash has begun.

Although February is still an exhilarating time for many high-profile black Americans, whose research and life experiences are celebrated, others see it as overwhelming, even debilitating. They grow bleary-eyed, traveling almost daily, giving keynote addresses, participating in symposiums and moderating panels. And their physical exhaustion highlights an unsavory reality: Come March 1, public interest in them and their work plummets.

This was the first time I had heard about this growing resentment among Blacks about Black History Month, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense to me. The histories, experiences, and contributions of groups of color should not be considered as “side attactions” that are only recognized one month out of the year. Instead, as many Blacks argue, they need to be fundamentally integrated into the everyday lives of Americans year-round.

It’s examples like this that should serve to remind people that being “American” is not synonymous with being “White” -- Americans come in many different colors and have many different histories and experiences.