What's Cooking in our Melting Pot?

You probably know that February is Black History Month, but did you know it originated in 1926 as Negro History Week?

The concept was founded by Carter G. Woodson who began high school at the age of 20, graduated from the University of Chicago, the Sorbonne, and Harvard University, where he earned a PhD. in 1912. He spent the remainder of his life collecting and protecting records of Black contributions to our culture and educating all people of their endeavors. He chose February because of the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, one of our first great advocates of human rights.

This set me thinking. There are only 12 months in a year. When do we take time to reflect on the contributions made by the myriad of Asians or East Indians? What about our Hispanic bothers and sisters? How about Jewish, Islamic and other Middle Eastern societies? What about all the European cultures from the Irish to Italians to Serbians? How about the original ingredients of our wonderful melting pot, the Native Americans?

Perhaps we should consider February as Heritage Month, where we take the time in our schools and daily lives to honor and respect each culture that has contributed to the richness of our hybrid roots. We serve as a model for the melding of global cultures and with the state of our shrinking world, we have an opportunity to light the way.