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Black History Month
Thursday, February 25, 2016
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GSU ALUMS ARE
AT THE TOP OF
THEIR GAME...
IN BUSINESS
YUNIQUE MURPHY
Contributing writer
Graduates from Grambling State University have
become a part of our Black
history. Graduates who have
pursued a career in business have shown the world
Student Perspectives on Black History
Black history does indeed matter
Black History Month is a
time to honor and celebrate
those before us who paid the
way to make a better world
for African Americans.
However, I feel that it is not
as recognized as it should be.
Being that it is the only
month that acknowledges
Black history, and it is the
shortest month of the year,
it needs to be honored tremendously. It is our responsibility to bring attention
to our month. As African
Americans, we need to take
pride and show everyone
what Black history really is.
It is about celebrating all
the trials and tribulations
we’ve overcome throughout
the years.
It is about honoring the
great leaders before us and
those among us today.
It is about celebrating our
culture and traditions and
never letting them die.
It is about loving who we
Asia Edmondson
are nobody what media may
try to portray.
When February comes
around, most people think
about Valentine’s Day or
even Mardi Gras. The
thought of Black History
Month is the last thing on
their minds.
We cannot forget what
the month of February is
truly about. We can spread
awareness by informing
one another of the history
of Black History Month.
Inform each other of the
accomplishments our people
accomplished.
Even today, there are
many African Americans
making history as we speak.
Barack Obama being the
very first African-American
president. Misty Copeland
being the first AfricanAmerican female principle
dancer at the American Ballet Theater.
We all play a part in Black
history. History is being
made every day of our lives.
Our history does not start
with slavery; our history is
beyond that, and we must
inform our brothers and
sisters. It is great that we
have influential people such
as Beyoncé and Kendrick
Lamar bringing awareness.
Knowing that even the richest people in the country are
really on our side makes me
very happy, it lets us know
that we are not alone.
Black History Month
is our month and we must
cherish it. If we don’t
acknowledge it, no one will
ever acknowledge it and take
it as seriously as they take
Independence Day, or even
Cinco de Mayo. It starts with
our people as a whole coming together and respecting
who we are.
There are so many people
who paved the way for us.
A lot of them are not as
famous as some, like Martin
Luther King Jr, or Madam
CJ Walker, but they too
play a major role in Black
History Month. People such
as Phillis Wheatley, the first
African-American female
poet to be published, or
Hattie McDaniel, the first
African-American to win an
Oscar.
All of them matter, all of
them paved the way, and it is
up to us to keep them alive.
Asia Edmondson is a junior mass
communication major from Baker,
Louisiana.
Let us never forget our history
Being an African American in this world today is
very tough, unequal in the
aspect of receiving the
same respect or common
courtesy that the Caucasian
Americans receive, and very
scary, especially for African
American males. When it all
boils down to it, no one can
stand back and say that they
do not see the racial injustice
that the African American
man, woman, or child faces
on a day-to-day basis.
So many things have
happened to the African
American race within the
past year alone, things that
would make anyone of that
race fear for their lives.
So many deaths have been
unaccounted for, some just
swept under the rug, some
even done by the very people
who swore an oath to protect
and serve all races – the police.
Shalonda Meadows
As time has rolled on it
has been an uphill battle trying to get the opposite race
to understand that we are
more than just a skin tone,
statistic, and opinion of that
they personally think.
Due to the killings of so
many African Americans,
there have been rallies and
even organizations put
together due to the XXXXX
of the same race who felt
that the voice of the African
American nation was being
silenced and oppressed.
Some of those are Black
Lives Matter, Don’t Shoot,
and others who were put
together because of the
violence on innocent – and
sometimes unarmed – African American citizens alone.
A very specific case was a
young woman named Sandra
Bland. She was pulled over by
a Texas State Trooper for reasons that are still to be justified,
but one of the reasons was
because she would not put out
the cigarette when the trooper
asked her to, which to any
other common citizen would
seem to be no problem at all.
If she did nothing wrong
and did nothing illegal, why
would you get so upset to
the point that you would
literally pull her out of her
car just because she did not
want to put out her cigarette? What did the cigarette
have to do with you pulling
her over in the first place? I
am pretty sure she was not
the only person in her car
minding her own business,
smoking a cigarette.
Another incident is the
Trayvon Martin case. A
former neighborhood watch
captain named George Zimmerman killed him. Trayvon
was just coming from the
store with a tea and Skittles
in his hand. Zimmerman
was acquitted on all charges.
Due to these hate crimes,
as African Americans we
have to make sure that
our love for ourselves and
our Black History is never
forgotten because it is really
important to understand
where we come from, where
we have been, and how far
we have to go.
Shalonda Meadows is a junior
mass communication major from
Marion, Indiana.
Research Black history yourself
Black History Month is a
time where we are supposed
to remember ѡ