Remember Black History Month, act throughout the year

Nearly 40 years after it was proposed, why do we still celebrate Black History Month?

Why keep remembering the shameful past, especially when doing so has not produced racial equity?

Why single out the unique experience and contributions of black Americans when so many groups can point to their own struggles and subsequent accomplishments?

Wouldn't it be better to close the book and move on?

Not without continuing to look back.

Neglecting the past denies future generations the opportunity to learn from past mistakes, even our ugliest.

It neglects to acknowledge that the accomplishments of early black Americans were often purposefully kept from our written history.

While first proclaiming February as Black History Month, President Gerald Ford said we should 'seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.'

For nearly 40 years, we've done so, honoring black Americans who have inspired others through industrial innovation and athletic ability, by gracing the silver screen or imprinting on our national conscience. Marking the ways black Americans have forged a legacy integral to our national identity.

We have enriched school curriculum with the stories of Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington Carver and Rosa Parks. We have decided that all students deserve national role models that look like them.

We've also arrived at a time when remembering and honoring isn't good enough.

While the list of great achievements reached by black Americans continues to grow, the reality is today's black American communities wrestle with poverty rates three times higher than the national average and educational achievements significantly lower.

In 1964 — more than a decade before Black History Month was instituted — 42 percent of Americans told Gallup they believed black-white relations would always be strained. Two years ago and after 39 years of observance, that number is largely unchanged.

In the beginning, Black History Month was intended to provide evidence that all Americans have and do contribute to our society. Mission accomplished.

So it's time to expand that mission; to eradicate continued inequities and move forward, together.

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