Lives of Black Folks: the Double--edged Commodification of Black History

The fact that Black History Month even exists shows the milestones which society has made to recognize an underprivileged class. For years accurate portrayal of African American living has been neglected in media. For the most part, modern portrayals of the African American Household are represented naturally in some shows, save a few shows that overly exaggerate "black culture" and African American cultural values. From being mimed in black face to now having purely African American broadcasts and even owning corporations, representations of black people have come a long way. The one problem I have with the month is the commodification or exploitation of black lives. 

I never see as many broadcasts of Malcolm X, Roots or The Cosby's as I do during the month of February. The fact is that broadcasting a lot of these specials is not the problem, I personally like Roots. Media focuses all their African American campaigning and "positive" representation to this one month. They educate the masses about the struggles of the black people while at the same time alienating them. The fact that this is a once a year thing serves to separate the month from the rest of the year, making it inaccesible to society for the rest of the year. It is a holiday. Black History month is a holiday to the extent that it is nationally (and in some places internationally) known. The month-long holiday originally started as a week of "Negro History" by Carter J. Woodson, February was selected for it's ties to the birthdays of president Abraham Lincoln and Frederic Douglass. The week was meant as a celebration of black achievement and history, but has now turned into a circus of blackness. 

In the years since its inception, Black History Month has now boiled down to PBS specials and big hollywood productions that tend to dramatize the Civil Rights and Black Panther movements, not so much focusing on the good that has come from this section of African American history, but to push the negative experiences. The same people and themes arise: slavery, segregation, emancipation, religion and family values. In grade school before I had the chance to pick up Toni Morrison or Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison or Zora Neale Hurston I was pumped with the stereotypical media images of Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, jr. and Rosa Parks.  These storylines are all similar. There aren’t really any big name actors starring in movie roles about black inventors like Lewis Latimer who invented the carbon filament of the light bulb or Garret Morgan who invented the gas mask and the first traffic signal. Not to say that the Civil Rights Movement was not as important as these victories, if these people hadn't made a difference, then where would we be? What I do want to focus in on is the fact that these are some of the only stories being represented. It is good to focus on history, but it would be good to think about history as a subject taught in a classroom, not once a year nor as a special topic for half a semester. There are high schools and definitely many colleges that offer African American studies, but I feel like one of the main problems of representing African American History is the dramatization of the oppressed. However, with a medium that is inherently dramatic, how do we focus on portraying a historical, month without capturing some dramatic event? How do you market a movie without a turning point or a book without a beginning, middle and end? 

In the article TV marks Black History Month, but is that such a good thing? Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times  summarizes what Filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman feels about Black History Month:

“Picking up on that thread, Tilghman examined how Black History Month is taught in most schools and found that the focus is usually limited to four figures: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass. Often black historical figures are given short shrift the rest of the year.”

Filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman is no stranger for showing his distaste of the month. In his recent film project More than a Month he explores the possibility of ending Black History Month all together. I believe that this is rather extreme, but I do believe that he is going down a very productive path. Tilghman is thinking about the "what if". If Tilghman has decided that the "what if" of getting rid of the month is productive then I'd love to explore how this could be productive to helping out black and white society. If he has decided that it is unproductive then I'd like to know how this is unproductive. I plan on watching the film in the hopes of getting a deeper view on Black History Month and black opinion of black history period. Is history bias for African Americans? Does this bias have a bad effect on how non-blacks interpret blacks? Does this month serve as a seperation or alienation of blacks from society or does it work to point out things that must be changed in order to incorporate blacks into society?

I've included a few personal opinions of the month in the clips situated to the left. I hope that you get the chance to click them. Please, tell me your thoughts, I'd love to hear.