Black History Month: Education, honor, and celebration

. Nancy Tolson who is the Assistant Director of African American Studies at USC says one of the best ways to honor this month is by simply learning the history of African Americans.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Black History Month begins today. Nancy Tolson who is the Assistant Director of African American Studies at USC says one of the best ways to honor this month is by simply learning the history of African Americans.

According to Tolson, during black history month many people reflect on slavery or civil rights but the history includes the events from 2020 and even today. 

“We remember George Floyd, we remember the protest. Some of us woke up during that time,” says Tolson. 

Tolson also says a major part of celebrating or honoring black history is education, learning about it and then spreading that knowledge with others. She recommends reading books that highlight the truth. 

Tolson spoke on the discussions surrounding certain books about African American history that should or should not be accepted into schools. “Well my thoughts on it especially black children’s literature.  . .that’s something I have found fascinating how they have empowered these books and they’ve made them look like their evil and they’re not. When my children were growing up they were emerged in white books and they opened these books and there was nothing but white images, what is that saying to my child? Who is of value? So I decided to go back to school to study this for my kids.”  

Learning about the past requires you to revisit tough moments and it can be done with grace, says Tolson. “Walking through it not as pointing fingers but explaining it as black history as American history.”