Black history vital in battling evils of racism

Letters to the editor
San Angelo Standard Times
January 23, 2006

Editor:
Black History Month, celebrated throughout the month of February, focuses on the rich contributions that black Americans have made to the development and culture of our country.
Feburary is set aside to honor our black American ancestors and their accomplishments.
We pause during this month to recognize their greatness, their significant contribution to our culture and to build new bridges of understanding, appreciation and respect.
During Black History Month, people with roots in the African continent find a new sense of pride in their history and culture.
A people without a history are a people without an understanding of who they are. The possession of one's own history is the first step in an appreciation of one's culture.
The history of black American people in America is a poignant one. Black Americans must never forget their roots nor fail to cherish the memories of their forebears, men and women who suffered indignities beyond comprehension to people with white skin.
What has often blocked the full expression of the black American culture and heritage is racism.
Sadly, racism still remains a part of the American landscape. Racism dulls the conscience, blinds reason, wounds the will, stifles creativity and erodes charity. Racism operates silently in strategies of self-interest and in structured patterns of discrimination.
Because racism is fundamentally a moral evil against the nature of the human person, its elimination requires ultimately a moral solution.
Black History Month reminds us that racism will be eliminated only when human beings acknowledge and respect all other human beings as persons made by God in the divine image and likeness.

The Most Rev.
Michael Pfeiffer,
Catholic Diocese of San Angelo

source: http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/sast/news_opinion_letters/article/0,1897,SAST_10318_440840