On every February from the 1st to the 28th the African-American community celebrates its month long holiday of Black History month where films are watched and friends come together in remembrance of how far we’ve come.
In 1926 a new week-long holiday was created in the second week of January, that holiday was called Black History Week.
The individual that declared this holiday was one Carter G. Woodson who established the week in order to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (The 16th president of the USA) and Frederick Douglass (The father of the civil rights movement).
Locally in Salem Oregon our history in civil rights is long and full of challenges yet all of those hardships have led us to today, despite everything that has been thrown at us.
Ever since the creation of Black History Week in 1926 this holiday has been much more than just a chance to celebrate the history and accomplishments of the African-American community, but a source of inspiration and pride.
At this point in time if the entire idea of a Black History Month was abolished and forgotten the effect would remain and the reason is best summarized by one Reyon Adam, “Because you should just be proud of who you are. No matter what.”
In 1964 a West Salem African-American couple applied to rent an apartment in West Salem but due to segregation sentiments the McKenzie couple was barred from procuring the apartment despite them having the necessary funds to do so.
Eventually this case was brought to the Oregon State Bureau of Labor who sided with the McKenzies, ordering the apartment owner to not allow anyone to rent any one of their apartment spaces until the McKenzies were able to rent an available apartment space.
Despite the fact that most people are ignorant towards stories such as this one, we all know the effect these situations bring to our city, state, and country which Olivia Jolivett describes through the line, “not just history, but like, the impact we had on the nation. Yeah, like all of that I feel like it needs to be heard.”
This month stands as the beacon that we can all point to, to see that this nation is getting better and that we have a place in this nation that can never be replaced or taken away.
From being the national capital of the KKK to becoming a city where discrimination based upon race is a circumstance made not only taboo throughout Salem, but punishable by the people and law throughout the nation.
The truth of Black History Month is not only to look at our past and witness our accomplishments, but to look at the present and future to see just how far we’ve come; and just how far we’re going.
