Distorting Black History During Black History Month Isn’t a Good Thing
We’re Only Getting the Uplifting Version
As Black History Month in 2025 arrives, it is an excellent time to reflect on how it is historically celebrated and whether Americans learned an accurate version of Black History. Most of the efforts to celebrate Black History Month are promoted by corporations and schools, and let’s see what kind of job they did.
Publix is the largest grocer in the southeastern United States, with over 1350 locations. For Black History Month in 2023, they published an article featuring two Black food industry entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Publix focused on its successes and locations, ending the article by showcasing a few of their recipes, whose ingredients can be purchased at Publix. We learn nothing of their struggles and what they went through to get there. Did they face racism? You would also never know that chef Deborah couldn’t and restauranteur Zak Wallace once couldn’t have worked or even shopped at Publix due to its former segregationist policies. This …
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to William F. Spivey's History Channel to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.