From The Editor – Issue 4 Volume 1

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Some people wonder why dedicate a specific month to the celebration of Black history?  While others think why celebrate Black history for only one month?  In response to the first question, quite simply the majority of ancestors of individuals from African descent, did not come to this continent by choice.  They were captured, bound, chained, and shipped in the hull of ships; then sold based on physical features to the highest bidder.  This includes the many millions of souls who died during the Middle Passage. Quite simply the United States was built and often is still built on backs of those from African descent.

Now in response to the second question initially Black history month started by Carter G. Woodson as Negro History Week, within February.  This month was selected primarily because the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln are in February.  However, there is still great debate surrounding the idea of dedicating one month to the history of one race.  As for me regardless of the month, I continually celebrate and learn about the history of my ancestors those brought here as slaves and those indigenous to the land of the Choctaw tribe.

In this issue are submissions that focus on celebration of history for those whose roots run through African, American, and Jamaican soil.  There is a feast for the belly and the brain with poetic verse, a recipe for jerk chicken, and insightful articles.  After reading this issue, I implore you to learn a little about some of the individuals that contributed to American history  even though their African descendants were initially brought here against there will.  Check out the websites for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture at http://nmaahc.si.edu/ ; the Museum of the African Diaspora http://www.moadsf.org/; the Smithsonian National Museum of the Native American http://www.nmai.si.edu/; as well as the Institute of Jamaica http://instituteofjamaica.org.jm/.

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