In Celebration of an American Month of History

Speech at Toyota Motor Sales –USA -Erlanger, Kentucky
-February 7, 2011

By Rodney D. Coates*

First of all I would like to thank Mr. James E. Lentz President & Chief Operating Officer Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and Mr. Sylvester Ogletree and the African American Collaborative and the Awareness Committee for inviting to speak to you today as you kick off your black history celebrations. As I began preparing, I thought it might be prudent to see just who Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. was and in what ways it as a company has embraced both diversity and encouraged multi-ethnic and racial recruitment, interactions, advancement, and development. Therefore it was with both surprise and appreciation when I came upon your commitment to diversity as stipulated in your corporate statement. To wit:

In order to contribute to the economic well-being of all segments of our communities, Toyota is committed to having a . . . base that more closely reflects the diversity of our customers and our team members. (This) . . . provide(s) an array of ideas—in addition to delivering manufacturing support, goods and services—creates a significant competitive advantage for Toyota.

Thus clearly Toyota, U.S.A. is dedicated to the education and development of all of its employees in an effort to maximize its profits, market exposure, and customer base. In this regard, Toyota looks at racial and ethnic minorities, women, and all of its employees as members of a team whose corporate strategy must be inclusive, diverse, and progressive. It is this strategy which it boasts of sales in 2010 of 2.10 million units. This is remarkable given the massive recalls and the U.S. recession. These sales amounted to 2.1 trillion yen or just under 26 billion U.S. dollars. This clearly demonstrates a company which has learned to compete in a multi-ethnic and racial environment, with a multi-ethnic and racial labor pool. They also reflect Toyota's aggressive diversity programs associated with “ …spending goals, its open door policy for prospective employees, suppliers, dealerships and partnerships - through training, and innovative initiatives that build upon the talents of a broad range of individuals.” Given this record I am more than honored to speak here today.

As I begin, however, I must make a confession. After more than 20 years of teaching and research with regards to diversity, race and ethnic relations, and other scholarly activities, I have come to wonder if it is appropriate to celebrate Black History Month. Perhaps we should not have such days of remembrance, perhaps they only serve to remind us of our differences. Perhaps they are filled with too much pain and too little actual celebration. And perhaps it would be better if we were to forgo such celebrations in the future. Now before you tear up my honorarium and show me to the door, perhaps you might give me a few minutes to explain.

Over the many years, even since I was a child in school –attending Abraham Lincoln elementary school in E.St. Louis, Illinois – I have been encouraged, inspired and enlightened by the yearly celebrations associated with Black History Month. I have watch with anticipation as the newspapers, radio and TV. programs, and local retailers would ‘almost miraculously’ discover and painstakingly point out the many black heroes and heroines, accomplishments and achievements, innovations and inventions, and events and personalities. With pride I relished the national discourse which rehearsed the histories and mysteries, circumstances and reflections, current problems and possibilities. Walking through either the local mall or book store, classroom or public square –there all around me were the pictures and music, poems and essays, speeches and moments that have made this country and these people worthy of our celebrations. Then as the 28 or 29(if it happened to be leap year) days were gone, the pictures would come down, the displays gently repacked, and the spirit of celebration replaced with the not so harsh realities of an America that appeared to have forgotten or did not care. It was with this knowledge that it would take another 12 months before we would be again in the season of black recognition and celebration that over the years has caused me to wonder if indeed such a season is appropriate, meaningful, and necessary for the republic.

So, I stand before you today –contemplating the unconscionable –to eliminate the celebration of Black History Month. But, before we jump to any hasty conclusions –let us interrogate the history of this Nation, this celebration, and our responses. In the process let us investigate our own reasons for embracing or rejecting these forms of recognition. Perhaps my quandary might be remedied and we can come to a just conclusion regarding this celebration of Black History. With all things we should start at the beginning.

As in “We the People” –this phrase captures the spirit if not the history of this great country. This country was founded upon the principles of what John Locke referred to as a ‘social contract’. This social contract lays down the basis for what would ultimately become the United States of America –where we individually and collectively agreed to forgo our former national identities to coalesce into that thing called an American. The reality of that social contract, enshrined in our Declaration of Independence by Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Jay and others – asserted that all men were created equal and endowed by their creator with certain ineligible rights. Unfortunately, this grand vision was not realized by all those who were not white, male property holders. Thus for over 200 years, we have been tinkering with the mechanism of democracy, tweaking the constitutional freedoms, and expanding the franchise to include all persons –regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, and disability. Hume posits that in a perfect union, a perfect society, and a perfect social environment –all of us would have had perfect access to the blessings of liberty, prosperity, and privilege. For all too many that was not the case, thus our grand democratic experiment had multiple starting points, different sets of experiences, and varying degrees of access to the tree of liberty. These multiple trajectories have meant that the tree of liberty has been watered from many streams, the roots have been nourished through many national identities, and the branches represent many unique experiences, opportunities, and possibilities. As we look at this tree we see that it has many bends and twists, many growth rings and circles and many knots and burls –as we have allowed “We the People” to flourish and grow.

Thus, as we look at the Liberty Tree –We the People –we not that it yet stands grand and multi-faceted –with its English and Africans, Greeks and Indians, Islam and Jew, Christian and Gentile. But as with all trees, the Liberty Tree not only has these many branches, but it also has all these many roots. Therefore as we contemplate the tree, as we contemplate who we are -we cannot ignore who we have been. You see, we have never been just one people, one religion, or one culture –we have from our very inception been a polyglot of languages, multicultural extravaganza and exquisitely diverse national entity. Consequently, considering the phrase at the base of the Statue of Liberty, our identity is most aptly defined “Give me your poor, tired, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

And what has become of these poor, tired, and huddled masses –they have become the most progressive, prosperous, and free nation in the world. They ‘as in We the People – have pointed to the possibilities of freedom, the promises of justice, and the premises of democracy. It was the dream not the reality; hope not the world of despair, and the opportunities not the problems that many, even though they were excluded from the freedom project, embraced. And it is their faith in the future that accounts for the liberties that we hold so dear today –and it is these multiple realities that must be acknowledged lest we forget who we are, where we have come from and why we are here.

If Black History Month were just about blacks and their history then this would be a waste of our time as a Nation. But if this is about a unique group of Americans who have expanded our Nation, enlivened our history, and enriched our culture –then it is proper that we should have such a national celebration. Therefore let us consider the historical record to determine what it is that is being celebrated in a Black History Month.

On March 5, 1770, when Crispus Attucks, along with several others was killed, the American Revolution was launched. Crispus Attucks was not killed because he was a black man, but because he was an American who dreamed of freedom. When Agrippa Hull, Lemuel Haynes and Richard Hall with over 5,000 blacks responded to George Washington’s call for recruits, they did so not as blacks, but as patriots determined to make America free. In 1851, to the delight of women and the consternation of men throughout this country, Sojourner Truth articulated a complex and highly nuanced appeal for equality and liberty in her speech Ain’t I a Woman. In this speech she argued that regardless of gender, women deserved equal treatment because they bore an equal burden as Americans. Harriet Tubman, who many know as one of the most successful conductors for the Underground Railroad, served the cause of freedom from 1862-1865 as she provided vital information to the Union as a spy. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois –both instrumental in fostering the development of major educational institutions, political and activists’ organizations –did so to foster and advance the American dream of opportunity, liberty, and prosperity to all of its peoples. And though their labors were singularly directed to the black community, their purpose was to America. Speaking of B.T. Washington we must not forget the institution he founded –Tuskegee which gave us not only the innovative genius of George Washington Carver but also courage of the Tuskegee Airmen. Thus in both war and peace, Tuskegee has served the causes of liberty and technological innovation which has so enriched America. But lest we forget, Tuskegee from 1932-1972 was also the site where a total of 399 poor African American men were part of the infamous syphilis experiments. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, cited as "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history," led to the 1979 Belmont Report and the establishment of the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). It also led to federal regulation requiring Institutional Review Boards for protection of human subjects in studies involving human subjects. Again, our recognition of these heroes is not as blacks, but as they have served to enlarge and expand the freedoms, rights, and protections enjoyed by all Americans.

As we continue on our American journey we must consider the pioneering work of Charles Drew help establish the protocols for successful blood transfusions and establishment of Blood Banks throughout the country during the early part of World War II. Anyone who has survived major surgery owes their very life to the efforts of Charles Drew.

Many Americans have expanded our frontiers as astronauts. But on Feb. 1, 2003, when Michael Philip Anderson and the rest of his crew died when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated after reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere he did not die as a black man, but as an American who gave his life so that we might advance our knowledge.

As I listen to the Blues of Howling Wolf, Leadbelly, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and B.B.King – I hear the depths of America’s soul, I feel the breadth of America’s dreams and I see the wonder of Americas promise. As I contemplate the jazz of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Miles Davis, or Miles Davis – I revel at America’s splendor, I bow to the majesty of America’s genius, and I herald the coming of a great new American tomorrow. As I listen to the soulful rhythms of Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Commodores, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Supremes, or Earth wind and fire –speak to my soul – I am reminded of the loves we have shared, the paths we have walked and the stars that have filled our hearts. And as the gospels of Mahalia Jackson, Walter Hawkins, the Winans, James Cleveland, The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi or Mary Mary – truly even those in heaven take note of the angelic harmonies coming out of America. When I find myself bouncing to the rhythms of hip-hop –the poetic genius of Lauren Hill, the ecstatic wonder of India Arlee, or the floetry of Boyz in the Hood –I am refreshed and renewed. And finally –when I hear the eloquence of Frederick Douglas or Langston Hughes, Ida B. Wells or Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis or Malcolm X, Martin Luther King or Barrack Obama – our hearts sing of the blessings of liberty, we hear the freedom bell ring a clearer tone, the drums of freedom beat a louder beat, and the songs of liberty sing of a brighter day –as Americans –they all speak.

Thus, as I contemplate this Black History Month in the Year of 2011 –no I will not celebrate it as a unique black event, but as a tribute to the courage, stamina, and determination of an American people. I will not celebrate a Black History month dedicated to the accomplishments of a people whose sole identity is that of blacks, but I will celebrate a group of Americans, who coincidentally are black, who challenged us to dream, challenged us to hope, and who challenge us to live out the best that is America. I will not celebrate a history to blacks but to these Americans, who patriotically shed their blood, gave of their souls, and who sacrificed that we all might breathe free. Yes –today, I celebrate America as I contemplate these wonders that we choose to call black.

And thus, I guess I will celebrate this American Month of History…. Thanks...

 

Rodney D. Coates

Professor

 

*Note: Rodney D. Coates is a professor of sociology at Miami University.  He can be reached atcoatesrd@muohio.edu.

for more of my work please go to:

http://www.redroom.com/author/rodney-d-coates

 

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