TheLoop21.com

By: Cindy Barnes-Thomas (Add to your loop)
Wed, 02/03/2010 - 01:00

Henrietta Lacks' studies have been invaluable in the progress of modern medicine.

Look for our series, 'Why is Black history segregated,' coming February 10.

Well, would you look at that? It’s Black History Month already. As we move into the second decade of the 21st century, many are questioning the continued relevance of Black History Month. And it's an important question worth pondering considering we’ve had a Black president for an entire year now.

However, I’d like to urge those of you who think Black History Month is unnecessary not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, Blacks have made great strides but we are never too old to learn something new. I just learned that an African-American woman is responsible for the polio vaccine and also made other medical strides in vitro fertilization. Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer in Virginia suffering from cervical cancer but the studies of her tissues nearly 60 years ago have been invaluable in the progress of modern medicine.

As much as we think we know, there is always an opportunity to broaden our horizons or at least get a different perspective. Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, many people searched for a refresher on Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution to better understand the first Black Republic. Howard Zinn just died last week and even though he wasn't Black, he changed the tone of historians by emphasizing people of color, women and the disenfranchised who contributed to the history of the United States.

With that in mind, I would ask that you choose to dig deeper—it’s not just about Frederick Douglass or Sojourner Truth or any of our other ancestors. There are a lot of people making history here and now. Black History Month is about recognizing contemporary trailblazers like neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black, medical innovator Dr. Patricia Bath and inventor Dr. Mark Dean.

Typically entertainers and athletes are first and foremost in our minds when it comes to history makers, but our history is richer and more complex than that. For instance, last year Alysa Stanton was the first African American woman to be ordained as a rabbi.

Blacks are breaking barriers everyday whether we acknowledge it or not. It doesn’t even have to be on a grand scale. Think of the everyday heroes in your lives and communities who may or may not be recognized.

It is worth acknowledging and lauding not only those who came before us, but those who are carrying on those legacies and making valuable contributions today. Black History Month is not simply a static catalog of past achievements.