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In the Middle

by Reverend Elaine Beth Peresluha, Febuary 2009

Years ago, when I saw Amistad, I was shocked and shamed to learn I had never heard of La Amistad before this movie was produced. In my history classes, I had never learned about the slave ship revolt or the historic Supreme Court decision that freed 42 enslaved African people thirty years before the Civil War.

History is not always a complete or an objective reporting of our past. Because recorded history is determined by the viewpoint of the people in power, history often reflects their misconceptions. In the United States, African American history has been distorted by the prejudice of historians, by the opinions of people in power, by the society reviewing the stories and publishing the books. On February 7, 1926 Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week to correct the historic social distortions and increase people’s knowledge of African American history. In 1976, Negro History Week became Black History Month, a month to learn the significant ways in which African people have impacted the civilizations of countries around the world. Here are some little known historic facts for your 2009 learning:

Alexander Pushkin, “The Father of Russian Literature,” was ridiculed as a child because his skin was dark like his African mother’s. He grew up mostly alone reading, and indulging his desire to be a writer. Pushkin’s pride in his African heritage was expressed in his writings. He was censored and forced into exile, which stifled his potential, but not his enormous contribution to Russian culture.

Alexandre Dumas was a literary genius of African ancestry. Dumas produced an enormous output of novels, travel works, memoirs and historical studies that dominated French literature throughout the seventeenth century. He is best remembered for his romantic novels chronicling the adventures of the Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo.

Prince Siddhartha, who preached in India over 2,500 years ago, became known as the Buddha, “the enlightened one” whose philosophy has spread throughout the world. Buddha is one of world’s most prolific philosophical and religious leaders. In his time, India had an indigenous Black population that had entered the subcontinent about 50,000 years ago from Ethiopia. Through cultural and racial assimilation, the face of India and the face of Buddha began to change. However, throughout Indochina one can still find statues of Buddha in his original appearance with dark skin, a flattened nose, powerful lips, and curly hair.

February teaches us about the heroes and heroines who gave their lives to sit down and stand up; whose words and power helped create a more just society. February offers us pioneers such as Lillian Evanti, the first Black woman to sing opera to a white audience, Mary Mahoney, a pioneer in nursing, and Rogers Albert, one of the first slaves to go to college. Malcom X and The Black Panther Party for Self Defense started programs to feed, cloth, educate and empower hundreds of African Americans. Henry S. McAlpin was the first African American to be accredited to attend White House press conferences in February 1944.

African American history offers people a world of creativity, integrity, and courage too often overlooked. It can change people, their hearts, their minds, and their faith. Our communal and religious life is made better by assuring and expanding the African American history taught in our schools, displayed in our libraries and honored in our culture. Knowing and appreciating people who struggled for freedom, courageously lived their faith, and advanced the rights of all people, inspires each of us to do no less.

Namaste, Rev. Elaine

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