Humanities Express

From the Dean

I am probably one of the few people in American who grew up celebrating Groundhog Day. Well, not exactly Groundhog Day! It just so happens that my younger sister was born on this dubious holiday. Although we gleefully celebrated her birthday with cake and song each year, she usually sat grim-faced, undoubtedly contemplating the cruel trick that fate had played on her by allowing her to be born on the same day that we celebrate the prognosticative powers of a reclusive rodent. Despite the pall that her mood cast over the celebration, we could not imagine how many times she had been asked on her special day about seeing her shadow or asked to predict the weather for the next six months. With all the jokes and jabs, I suspect that my sister's birthdays were never particularly happy times for her while growing up. However, she has learned to appreciate irony and coincidence and has turned it all around. Now she holds one of the biggest Groundhog Day/birthday parties in the country every year.

By now you are probably wondering whether this personal anecdote about a debatable holiday and a partying sister has a point. Well, indirectly! Interestingly, Groundhog Day, and coincidentally my sister's birthday, occurs in February, a month which has a number of seemingly inexplicable holidays and celebrations. [One only needs to contemplate the celebratory potential of President's Day to get my point.] Little wonder that some would question the decision to celebrate African American History in February. In fact, I understand that some cynics have suggested that the relegation of this event to February, the shortest month of the year, reflects an unflattering national perception of the depth of African American history. However, the more historically minded know that the selection of February as the month in which we pause to recognize the contributions of people of African descent to American culture was deliberate. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and the architect of what was originally known as Negro History Week, chose this month because many African Americans already set aside time during February to acknowledge the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

In 1926, when he proposed that we set aside time to celebrate black heritage, Dr. Woodson, an African American and a historian, was well aware of the shame that many African Americans felt about their own past and the scholarly neglect of positive black contributions to history that fueled such feelings. Through black history celebrations, he sought to transform attitudes, uplift spirits, and ignite pride in the heretofore neglected achievements of people of African descent. Today, Dr. Woodson's week has turned into a month of national celebration. In the College of Humanities, however, we acknowledge the contributions of people of African descent to both American culture and to the world every day. We are especially proud of our faculty whose teaching and research focus on the African and African American experience. Their commitment to the ideals of Dr. Woodson enriches the lives of our students and the texture of university life. This month offers us a special opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate African American history and culture. In this issue of the Express, you will find, in addition to some our usual fare, several pieces on some of the Ohio State people and projects that contribute to the spirit of discovery that Dr. Woodson sought to ignite.

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