Recognizing Black history as American history

Does a monthlong focus on Black history make that material more or less likely to be recognized as American history year-round?

February is Black History Month in the United States. That may be the reason Knopf timed its reissue of Toni Morrison’s sole stand-alone short story for Feb. 1.

Whatever the reason, the timing is appropriate, since history is central to the work of this Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.

In her 1987 masterpiece, “Beloved,” for example, Morrison looks at slavery and its aftermath, allowing readers to see that painful past anew – its horror, yes, but also the depth of character and agency of those enslaved. 

“For me, the history of the place of Black people in this country is so varied, complex, and beautiful. And impactful,” Morrison says in the 2019 documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival seven months before her death. 

Without the Black perspective, history is incomplete, inaccurate, she argues.

Black History Month takes a similar stance, zeroing in on the people, places, and accomplishments often omitted from American history. But there’s a risk in that approach. Does a monthlong focus on Black history make that material more or less likely to be recognized as American history year-round?  

A group of Monitor editors asked that question as February approached. Should we feature a slew of pieces during Black History Month or persist in our commitment to make Black perspectives a regular part of our coverage throughout the year? We settled on the latter. And not just for Black Americans but for all people of color in the U.S. and beyond.  

That approach seemed truest to the guidance Mary Baker Eddy gave when she founded the Monitor in 1908. In the paper’s first editorial, she wrote, “The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” 

Striving to bless all mankind is a daily endeavor, not a monthlong one. 

At the end of “The Pieces I Am,” Morrison describes an experience at an art fair in Vienna. Standing in a dark room with her hand touching a special mirror, she sees a woman approaching on the other side of it who puts her hand up and touches Morrison’s. 

“Neither one of us said a word,” Morrison explains. “Just interest, curiosity, and human connection.” 

She continues, “That experience says more and much about what I think I’m doing when I write. I know I’m not you. I know I don’t know you. But I know this,” she says, holding up her hand as if touching another’s. 

We hope you find in our pages each week in print and online daily opportunities to touch hands with a wide range of people, to find in their perspectives “interest, curiosity, and human connection.”