Washed-out Black History Month
Dear Editor,
I waited until the end of February to speak on the issue of Black History Month celebrations which seem to be non-existent.
The Jewish community celebrates so many holidays and remembrances, especially the holocaust that occurred in Germany from 1939-1945. They even went as far as to find the perpetrators of the holocaust and had them hanged or imprisoned. The British Government orchestrated the reparation payment to Israel from Germany. I even think that Israel has nuclear power, but I am sure that when South Africa went from a white government to a black government, under Nelson Mandela, their nuclear arsenal was made dormant.
And so we continue to diminish our African heritage. Our leaders pay scant regard to our heritage and now it seems as if many of our national heroes never existed. When I go to many schools across Jamaica I see our national heroes depicted as white people with the straightest of noses and hair.
We cannot mimic and embrace European and American heritage as our own and expect to be successful as a nation.
I hope to be part of a revolution that will allow us to be proud black people and not mendicants to the rest of the world, a position we have been placed in by our ‘licky-licky’ politicians and the privileged class in our society.
Mark Trought
marktrought@gmail.com