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Education on race

A few years back I was chatting with a colleague while waiting for a business meeting to begin. It was February, and we were anticipating the upcoming Presidents’ Day holiday. We agreed it was nice to get another day off so soon since we had just had a day off in January in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. He then blurted out, “They have Martin Luther King Day, why do they need to have a Black History Month, too?”

I was amazed at the question, but casually replied it was “because all the other months are White History Month.” He asked why they aren’t called that, to which I simply replied, “it goes without saying.” The rueful look on his face told me I had made my point.

I marked it as another small step down what is still a very long road. But with enough of us helping others take these small steps, the greatest American dream will come true sooner rather than later.

Ivan Urnovitz

Spokane

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