Black History month is a time to look at the contributions of Black Americans of African descent, from slavery to today, with an eye on tomorrow. During this time, the nation will look at Black Americans like Booker T. Washington, Civil Rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, scholars like W.E.B. Dubois, and many others. We will be reminded of tragedies like Emmet Till, 16th Street Baptist Church and the death of four little Black girls all who died for one simple reason, they were Black in America at a time when there were no rights that a Black person had that a white person was bound to respect.

The lesson for the future should be that we should honor the struggle of those who have gone on before by working to improve on the blood-soiled victories of yesterday and not turn the clock backward. We need to continue to seek out problems that affect our future. For example, there were messages of the past that said we should "not trade where our people can’t work."

Another example of seeking out problems that affect our future is found in the States and cities which don’t celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday and Black History Month - opting instead for "Multi-Cultural Month.

Another part of the equation is to make sure we are training and teaching our kids the contributions of their ancestors. Don’t allow them to dress like thugs. They should be ‘dressed for success not dressed for arrest.’ Those of us who allow our kids to dress like thugs and street walkers do them a disservice because they dress in a manner which guarantees they won’t get hired. Hollywood has been effective in changing the image of Black America by promoting gangster rap dress styles. The result a generation of kids who are unemployable simply because of how they dress, talk, act and walk. I find it obnoxious to see Blacks on T-V, hosting shows, such as Star Search with those big earrings in his ear. Why doesn’t he just put a skirt on. Our kids see him dressed that way, and they dress that way and go apply for a job and are told "We’ll call you."

History will record that there was not much progress for Black America as a group made after the mainstreaming of the Rap culture. Snoop Doggy Dog as an individual is making millions on negative music about our people and producing pornography as he moves up the ladder providing role models for our young men. Is it any wonder the young men can’t find work?

Hopefully, those parents will wake up and refuse to allow their kids to dress like them and the gangster Rap period will soon be over and we can return to the struggle for the progress model set up by our foreparents such as Frederick Douglass, Adam Clayton Powell, and a thousand nameless freedom riders, civil rights marchers and sit-in demonstrators who came out of slavery, defeated discrimination and gained us rights by shunning individual progress at the expense of helping to lift us as a people. That’s our real history.

Will you be a part of our progress or will you be one of those playing into the hands of our oppressors to hold us back? Ask yourself, "What am I doing for the progress of Black history? If your answer is, "Nothing," then you must get busy.

Here are a few ideas to start with:

Join an organization such as the NAACP or the BBA;

Start trading with Black businesses, on a weekly basis, not just during Black History month;

Learn about Black inventors and Blacks in history;

Read Black literature;

Get to know Black music of the 60’s and 70’s, rather than only listening to rap and hip hop 24 hours a day, and listen to other types of Black music;

Buy an African garment (at least one) and wear it throughout the year and not only one time during Black History Month;

Visit your grandparents or the elders of your family (or a respected elder in your neighborhood or community) and ask them questions about what life was like in America during their youth and how they and their parents made it through the rough times.

If you do at least some of these things, you’ll begin to make a difference for yourself, your family, and ultimately, for our people.

Whether you know it, or like it or not, Black History is recorded in the minds of the world according to you!