National Freedom Day.

 

Today In Wyoming's History: February 1: Today is National Freedom Day, a date celebrating the 13th Amendment.

It is also Black History Month.

I should perhaps of noted this day in our ongoing 1942 thread, as this observance was passed into law in 1942.  For reasons noted here the other day, it's passage during the war was significant.

Black History Month came later, and it would come in advance of other "history month" observances.  Many of these are of significance, but they've become diluted as the more you have, the less any of them mean. This is unfortunate indeed, and particularly unfortunate when this one is considered.

African Americans and Native Americans truly have unique histories in relation to the United States and American culture. Of course, this can be said about other groups, but African Americans stem from a population that was brought here against its will and contrary to the values of the English nation that brought them here. They were then kept in slavery against the values of the nation that kept them enslaved.  That required them to be viewed as lessers due to their appearance alone, making this sort of late slavery, coming as it did as slavery had passed from the Western world, uniquely barbaric.  

Huge strides have been made in overcoming this legacy. That can't be emphasized enough. Even when I was young interracial couples were something rarely seen and which almost always struck the mind's eye.  Now, they're common.  We've come a long ways.  But here, truly, we aren't where we need to be yet.