Appreciating Black History Month

February is Black History Month and this has me thinking.  In our effort to form a more perfect union, we should strive to understand history through a wide range of experiences that reflect the great diversity of our nation...all the time, not just during one certain month. Ideally, we would not need special times to turn our collective attention to the ways one group or another has lived the American experience. Instead, we would always be sensitive and thoughtful in the way we tell our national story. We would understand and be able to explain a range of perspectives and describe important contributions to our history from people of all races, regardless of our own race, just as a matter of course.  

Unfortunately, we are not there yet. We still need these special, designated times to recognize the important (and not always universally appreciated) contributions that certain groups have made to our history.

In the meantime, I'm proud that our nation celebrates this occasion and hope that everyone takes a moment to reflect on what it means to us as individuals and as a nation, regardless of what we look like on the outside.

thanks, Ingrid