Black figures are not well represented in mainstream society despite the significant contributions they have made to U.S. history as leaders and inventors, Lt. Col. Barrye L. Price said Monday in a speech at the C.T. Bauer College of Business.
Education is the only way for mainstream society to learn about black figures and their contributions to American society, Price said.
"Not all universities offer classes about African-American history," he said. "We need this. Education continues to be the great equalizer in our nations."
Black history continues to be one of struggle beginning with forced migration during slavery, and the black community continues to be in a struggle to gain acceptance from mainstream society, he said.
Black History Month was created to exemplify the importance of black leaders who are otherwise not mentioned in textbooks, Price said.
"There is no mention in books about… black professionals," he said.
February was chosen to celebrate black history to honor both the birthdates of abolitionist Frederick Douglas and President Lincoln, Price said, not because it is the shortest month of the year.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the civil rights movement of the 1960s and individual leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Price believes society should educate students and scholars to focus more on the collective black experience in U.S. history. Society should integrate all minorities into the mainstream instead of creating divisions and subcultures, he said.
