Black History is American History
Updated: Feb 26
We are nearing the end of the month that has been designated to commemorate the contributions of Black Americans to the founding, growth, development, and future of this country.
In Our Arms blog is about inclusion and support, understanding the contributions and needs of caregivers, and appreciating and encouraging the incredible gifts available in the community of people with disabilities. Recognizing these accomplishments in other underrepresented communities seems to align with this mission.
In past years, I believe I would have chosen outstanding examples in health care, politics, science, or advocacy to display what Black America has meant to “America.” I would have been satisfied displaying Black Excellence; attempting to demonstrate the accumulated worth to our society. However, the cascading political events of the last month have helped me realize two truths:
1) We will find it difficult to prove the worth of the disabled or communities of color to American society.
2) It is challenging to engage in crucial conversations surrounding inclusion with those who are hesitant to listen.
This week, I have been interacting with other Americans of all different kinds of backgrounds. It has been psychologically and spiritually draining. I’ve been heartbroken by the mass ill-considered firings of thousands of federal workers without even understanding what services they provided or the effects on our citizens utilizing those services. I was disillusioned to see the firing of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (an African-American) and two Chief of Service Admirals (both women) who had done nothing but serve their country with dignity, honor, and accomplishment. Yes, I understand that these dismissals are fully within the rights and authority of the present leadership, but it was clear that their dismissals and the dismissals of other leaders centered around their belief in the idea of inclusion, and the willingness to speak up for that idea.
Many of our fellow citizens are in favor of the current changes that are happening in our country, saying leadership is “disrupting the deep state.” But are they not encouraging actions that seem to be the antithesis of understanding the history of the progress in inclusion that has occurred in this country? I hear the cries of reverse racism, “DEI hires,” and unmerited promotions, and I ask myself, ”Where is the recognition of the hundreds and thousands of unmerited promotions throughout our history for those who were advanced over more qualified, ‘other’ candidates?”
I’m not sure where we lost the understanding that the Black history we are talking about isn’t really just Black history; it is American history. An isolationist ideology and viewpoint has taken hold that would demean and belittle any accomplishment that has occurred. Black history is American history, the same way that Irish immigrant history is American history, or German immigrant history is American history, or Native American history is American history.
America is great because we are more than the sum of our parts. However, I believe we are now in an era when some are determined to separate those parts and leave us to believe that the remaining fractured entity is greater than the whole. It is beyond my capability to understand the logic in that thought process because it appears to be rooted in soil tainted with hatred.
Truthfully, I think that is where we find the crux of the issue with Black history. Real Black history is unknown by many because of hatred and bigotry. It is lost somehow in the indefensible thought that if I’m in power, the only way I can maintain my power is to deny the gifting, skills, contributions, and abilities of those who I have power over. It is animus that finds its strength in the demand that others must be kept lower, so I can be higher.
This is a recent message I sent to a friend who asked, “Where do we go from here?”
The very core of the goodness of this country is determined by our ability to see others in the same light we desire to see ourselves. It truly is to do unto others as we would want done to us. In this present environment, it is astonishing how easily we have forgotten that and are willing to give out cruelty in unimaginable ways. Compassion and empathy are lost. Selfishness and self-aggrandizement is cherished. But as demoralizing as all this is, I know my ancestors had a steeper hill to climb, and I am where I am today because they were willing to climb and made a way for me. So that’s the next step; for the sake of those who can’t do it for themselves, start climbing!
How do we make a difference? We must believe that the story of Black American History is “We Shall Overcome.”I vividly remember marching as a four-year-old child to end segregation, singing that song, believing that it would happen.
We can fight to overcome fear, misinformation, anger, hatred, bigotry, cruelty, disenfranchisement, and injustice. It is one step at a time. It is loving those who would hate you, respecting the fact that they were created in God’s image even when they would deny that truth about you. It is being willing to call elected officials as a concerned citizen and expressing the truth that this country should be better. People with disabilities and those who are less fortunate deserve our care and attention. We can appeal to better angels of our nature, and not the basal drives of our fear and anger.
One voice at a time; one action at a time; one step at a time.
On February 11, 2022, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System asked Dr. Henderson (Chris) to share his thoughts on Black History month:
In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth, Dr. James H. Henderson II, President of Medical Staff at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa-Westover Hills, shares his powerful experiences and thoughts on the importance of this celebration.
• How do you see your life experiences shape you and your outlook on the future?
I was fortunate to have grown up in the South during the Civil Rights era. I’m fortunate that I have seen how bad things can be. I can appreciate how far we’ve come, how far we have to go, and what we are at risk of losing if we fail to recognize our responsibility to each other. It is too easy to believe that where we are as a society is where we should be, rather than realizing that we have an obligation to each other to continue to grow in love and see each other as Jesus sees us. Freedom and equality require continuous protection against the baser instincts of our nature.
• Tell us about a moment in Black History that influenced or shaped your career/life?
My father “restarted” the NAACP with others in an area of Louisiana. Twenty years earlier, those in the NAACP had all been run out of the parish in the dead of night at gunpoint. We endured threats, bricks thrown at our house, and drive-by events. We marched in the streets to integrate schools as children. We sorrowed over the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and other less deadly bombings in Louisiana. Then I watched the events in Selma on TV. My mother was from Selma, and I spent nearly every summer there. I had ridden across the Edmund Pettus bridge many times. That event galvanized me to always stand up for what I believe in.
• What does Black History Month mean to you?
It is an opportunity to encourage everyone in society to recognize the contributions of Black people to the world and the U.S. Presently, history taught in schools minimizes the accomplishments made by people of color and indigenous peoples. This just helps to add to the understanding that all of us have a place in OUR history.
Listening Library: “The Journey” from Tyler Perry’s Netflix movie, The Six Triple Eight (H.E.R.)
The Journey
All the times you thought you'd never make it through
Felt just like the world just turned its back on you
Didn't stop you
All the times you could've given in and you'd given up
Times you didn't know if you were strong enough
Still you got through
Somehow it's all part of the plan
The journey
The journey
The journey
It's the journey
It's the getting there to where you're going to
Going through hell but still you're gonna make it through
It's the fire that they can't put out inside
It's a hell of a ride
All the times they thought that they could hold you back
But you've always known there was no chance of that
You're made (You're made) too strong
And when you're going with your heart you can go
Farther than you'd ever thought possible
Prove them all wrong
It's a part of the bigger plan
The journey
The journey
The journey
It's the journey
It's the getting there to where you're going to
Going through hell but still you're gonna make it through
It's the fire that they can't put out inside
It's a hell of a ride
Every step you take
Is the one more step along the way on the journey
The journey
The journey, yeah
It's the journey
It's the getting there to where you're going to
Going through hell but still you're gonna make it through
It's the fire that they can't put out inside
It's a hell of a ride
It's the journey
It's the getting there to where you're going to
Going through hell but still you're gonna make it through
It's the fire that they can't put out inside
It's a hell of a ride
It's the journey
Oh, the journey
© 2023 Diane Warren. All Rights Reserved.
Performed by H.E.R.
Amen, Dr. Henderson. Beautifully said and heartfelt. I intend to keep climbing.