Black History---Beyond the Text Book

Previously
Published in The Dispatch

A GateHouse Media Newspaper

In the words of Black History Month founder Carter G. Woodson, "Those who have no record of what their forebearers have accomplished lose the inspiration, which comes from the teaching of biography and history."

Woodson, a staunch advocate of education, forecasted that with each generation, we would move further away from understanding those critical moments in American history, and seemingly, lose appreciation of traditions influenced by American artists with visible African ancestry. For some, his concept is barely recognizable in our Black History Month recognitions, which tend to begin with slavery and then leap through history to end with Martin Luther King Jr.

However this year's conversations will be heavy with the all too familiar burden of a divided nation and here are some ways I plan to share the month of reflection.

My Great-Great-Grandfather
Robert Partee of East Spencer

Exploring more local history — Historical research has become somewhat of a hobby over the past decade ranging from searching slave registries in Rowan and Davidson County, to the North Carolina Transportation Museum starting where a portrait of my great-great-grandfather is on display. As I have mentioned in previous columns, his name is Robert Partee, and he was a former owner of the land that we now call The Spencer Shops. Land records have confirmed that Robert owned 140 acres in Salisbury, Spencer, and East Spencer. In 1880, Partee purchased 102 acres of land in Spencer from John Henderson for $712. After an unsuccessful U.S. Senate race, Henderson began secretly purchasing land to develop a depot district for the Southern Railway. Robert Partee was honored by the N.C. Transportation Museum for having sold back the land to Henderson for the advancement of the railway.

Trekking back through local history stirred an interest to looking beyond what we learned about our heritage in textbooks. Learning about people like my great-great-grandfather left me asking, “What else am I missing?” Partee owned land before emancipation, yet his legacy isn't well known outside of our family’s oral tradition. Since then I’ve been strolling through historical documents and discovering dozens of untold contributions of women and men.

Visiting museums— The Davidson County Historical Museum is gathering a number of interesting pieces for a timeline of the county’s history. Throughout February, they are working with local community members to borrow contributions, catalog them and determine a name for the section focusing on African-American history.

Another nearby museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center forAfrican-American Arts + Culture located in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, will honor the past and present though exhibits such as “Family First: The Inventors Workshop, with Dulce Tavares,” opening Feb. 4. Tavares’ research honors African-American inventors who are often anonymous. The museum invited families to "come with your own found objects or tools, and participate in a workshop focused on developing a new, creative, and experimental invention."

Embracing past and present art — “The Future is Abstract”highlights four contemporary artists working in abstract painting and mixed-media which opened on Jan. 28 at the Gantt Museum. As a fan of Charlotte’s native son and Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden, there is a sense of paying homage to his life with art encompassing his broad range of intellectual and scholarly interests, including music, the performing arts, history and literature.

Supporting quality television programming — I am abandoning my long tradition of watching “Roots.” Last year’s remake and Hollywood’s obsession with slavery was too much for me. Instead, a few friends across the nation are planning to tune-in to some of PBS’s Independent Lens film broadcasts where we will hashtag and live Tweet together.

On Feb. 10, we will be watching “Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis.” This is the first major documentary biography of Lewis. Since Lewis’s public rift with the President, there has been a rising interest in the decorated civil rights hero. Amazon sales for his books, “Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement” and “March,” both ballooned more than 100,000 percent, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We are also committed to the Feb. 13 showing of “Accidental Courtesy” an Indie documentary about African-American Musician Daryl Davis, who has played all over the world with legends like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Davis takes the controversial step of befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan. We can always count on PBS to share some thought-provoking films, not just for African-American History month, but throughout the year.

The past few months exemplify why we still need Woodson’s concept. Critical moments of inviting the nation to recognize the legacies of everyday African-Americans who have made an extraordinary impact on our society through their art, actions and struggles can bring people together. What are your plans for this month?