Black History Timeline
The black history timeline is a complex subject to explain. It is vitally important in and of itself, yet if it is no longer a matter of conjecture that some of the first discovered human beings were in fact from Africa, then does that not make the black history timeline the history timeline?
These are questions that should be part of any in-depth anthropological/historical/sociological discussion on the human species, but the reality is that African history has been distorted, lost, and hidden away for over two millennia, making it all the more vital that we continue to talk, remind and re-learn it in context as well as in a vacuum. This is my humble opinion and that means that it can be and will very likely be disrupted.
The purpose of the black history timeline - and in fact, Black History Month - is to promote the knowledge of black history, secondly to disseminate information on positive black contributions because the knowledge of what black people have done, must influence people’s perceptions of what black people are capable of. Thirdly to heighten the confidence and awareness of black people in their cultural heritage, an inevitable consequence of understanding what came before. This is not just our history but history that belonged to all of us.
I am still surprised what people don't know. Many people still believe that Egypt is not in Africa because they don't believe something so sophisticated could have been created by black people. There will be many who will seek to debunk all of these much in the same way Napoleon soldiers thought that if they smashed the noses from the sphinx and early Egyptian statues, they could erase the African history of the Egyptian civilisation. Because of course, black people could never have the expertise to construct the Pyramid of Giza….
Or we could talk about black inventors; the three-way traffic light and the gas mask invented by Garrett Morgan, a black man. Inventor of the Gas Furnace, Alice Parker; a black woman, The Three Musketeers (book/film/play) Alexandre Dumas; a black man, inventor of the modern home security system, Marie Van Brittan Brown; a black woman, the blood bank, Charles Drew; a black man, the guitar, Robert Fleming JNR a black man, the lawnmower, John Albert Burr, a black man, and many many more.
The Guardian has put together a timeline featuring two millennia of world-shaping individuals and momentous events that define Black history.
They say: “For all of us to understand where we are, and how we got here, it’s clear we need to understand our history. And that must include the contribution of Africans and their descendants to the story of the entire world.” These timelines celebrate some of those stories: of world-shaping individuals and momentous events.
This is not about creating a separate history; it is about adding to the history we are already familiar with. A story that is well worth knowing.
- Alfie Nelson