Over the years, how humankind has studied its history changed and evolved. Despite historiography being quite Eurocentric in the past, it has become more diverse and inclusive over the years, especially in the most recent history of Western historiography.
It is natural then that African-American history has gotten more attention, and Black History Month is now an important celebration. Without further ado, here’s what you need to know about the research done on black history.
African-American history originates in the 16th-17th centuries when Africans first arrived in North America. This aspect of American history is firmly intertwined with slavery, but other aspects range from culture and art to the civil rights movement and technological progress.
African Americans have been a part of American history for centuries, but they are only now fully embraced and celebrated for their achievements. Young and old generations alike must learn about their ancestors and predecessors.
Until the 1950s, African-American history was primarily studied by white scholars discussing it from the perspective of the Constitution and politics. They weren’t concerned with the lives of people who suffered from slavery but rather debated the repercussions of slavery.
This changed when the black scholar Carter G. Woodson popularized the study of African-American history during the 20th century. He argued that it should be a subject that is relevant to black people and that innovative and restorative strategies should be used to approach African-American history. Woodson was one of the people who proposed to introduce what is known as Black History Month.
If you are a student writing about African-American history, creating a polished piece of academic writing can be challenging. To help you, you can pay someone to write my paper and find an academic writer with enough experience and expertise to help you write your work on African-American history.
Besides that, you will also need to have a good source of high-quality literature on this topic. Luckily, there is a place called the African American Publications, which is a library that collects biographies of famous African-Americans. They provide students and researchers with information related to various ethnic groups in North America (ranging from African Americans to Hispanics to Native Americans and others).
Perhaps one of the most upsetting aspects of studying African-American history is rather the absence of the appropriate study itself which has been corrected fairly recently. There has been so much ignorance around black history that misconceptions are rampant, and historians continue trying to explain the truth and bring forth facts and evidence to support it.
For instance, one of the biggest misconceptions about slavery is that black slaves didn’t attempt to rebel against their enslavers and were passive, as if accepting their own fate. Of course, this is not true, and scholars of African-American history are actively spreading awareness about the real situation and actual history of the black community in North America.
Thanks to the efforts of scholars of African-American history who fought for recognition in the 20th century, studying black history has become mainstream. More and more younger generations are aware of African-Americans' rich and long history and want to spread awareness to those who still aren’t.
Names such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and many others are now known by the general public and regarded as critical historical figures that contributed to shaping the US and Canada of today.
Studying African-American history is important as it allows us to better understand our collective history and recognize the achievements of those whose voices have been silenced for years, decades, and even centuries.