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It's getting to a point that like Kwanzaa. I am really, really starting to hate 28-29 months out the year every year. All these companies and Networks using Blacks as just to sell equality like its a cheap and ugly product to be sold. That's what I believe they are doing. From Apple to ******** VW all these places just using Blacks to peddle products (or not) however after this month its back to the same s**t all over again. White models showing only white families buying white base products again.

Why is that we don't celebrate Asian History Month, Latino, Middle Eastern, or here's a fresh idea what not Native Americans? Let's not forget Women, Children, and all the other months we have but aren't as published and newsworthy as Black History Month. I would really, really like it we didn't still try to act like this country is so Black and White. Asians helped win WWII and built our railroads, Latinos gave us vast majority of the land (well we stole it but still had it not been for them we wouldn't have as much food as we have had) Native Americans kept the Whites from starving half the damn time, and who's know how many ways Middle Eastern help this country?

Still it just pisses me off that Black History Month is the only recognized ethnic month out of the whole year that everyone and everything talks about and how its becoming more commercial than anything. Besides, we had this month for HOW LONG and students across the board are still ******** clueless about any REAL Black History!

Besides Black History (as with all the other histories) are AMERICAN HISTORY! It's not like white people don't eat peanut butter, use stop lights, have open heart surgery, use fountain pens, mow their lawn, and I dunno all the other everyday objects that Blacks have either improved on or plain out invented.

I say we keep it up for at least 250 more years. Slavery "ended" .. what.. 1860 or so? We've got that many years left up until 400 since...

Can't get reparations, so let's take all we can!

Yeah I kind of just complained how HBO has better Black programs than BET atm moment as well as I have seen movies that I haven't seen much on cable. I mean they have pretty much played all of the "Popular" Spike Lee movies, every Black empowerment movies, every mainstream Black actor/ress major or Oscar winning movie has been showed. I think History channel did a special about Roots while PBS is talking about how Lincoln was pushed into the slave issue and other reconstruction stuff. Then again hey that's SO PBS though they also have been airing President Obama's concert special as well. Never get the change to set the Tivo for it though.

Still wish we did it for all the other GROUPS of people. I would love to learn about some Middle Easterns or hell current Native Americans because believe it or not we still have a few and no they just aren't running Casinos.

Yes but I agure how many people actually learn anything in these 28-29 days? Do you really non-Blacks are watching all these HBO specials? Or looking at CNN's Being Black in America? I mean seriously you go on internet forums and people are actually debating that Blacks don't have their own culture that there's no difference between White and Black culture anymore. We have too many people who firmly believe that All or MOST black people are supposed to live in the ghetto, have baby mama drama, and only listen to rap music.

I don't see the educational factor happening among my non-Black peers here, there or anywhere. People still don't know James Baldwin, Niki Giovanni, or Toni Morrison are and those books will blow away most of the crap being produced in today's book market and I WILL say they are better than stuffy old Shakespeare crap. Hell you still have people believing that Rock was started by the ******** Beatles and Elvis.

So what's the point of all this if the only people who kind of benefit from this are the same people who not only in the same culture but the same ones that actively search for these stories of Black empowerment?

I think one of the reasons Americans (including black Americans) are so ignorant about black history is because it seems to be a "sore subject" for many people. Who wants to talk about or embrace a history so full of injustice, pain, and suffering?

This is why I'm grateful that many company's choose to focus on the achievements of black Americans rather than just slavery and other issues that arouse angry, sad, or indifferent feelings and responses from people.

Slavery and its abolition and aftermath are important parts of the history of America, not just black Americans, and remembering these "bad parts" of history is crucial -- as the saying goes, 'those who forget history/the past are doomed to repeat it.'

It really shouldn't take so long for them to finally just accept that without Black/African-American this country would still be in the stone age. However, at least our month get some sort of attention by the mass media can't say the same about Asians. LOL hardly any whites were looking at the Blind side either. When I saw it a month or so ago it was mostly Blacks and Latinos.

and from what I heard it won a couple of Oscars last night. However the Oscars are a bitter subject for me atm.

Movies like Precious are bad for black people's overall image to other races.

Remember, white people generally get most of their ideas and info about black people from various media.. not from black people themselves.

They see whatever movie/news story/hear whatever song..

And then have one of those chance encounters with someone who fits the image to a T and then they apply it across the board. Because with your own kind you see the differences.. with others... you tend to miss them very often.

White people (and black people unfortunately) are in love with the idea of an angry, loud, fat black woman. To the point where everyone thinks that's how it's supposed to be. It's not a good look.