Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Yesterday we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as well as the 57th presidential inaugural ceremony, beginning the second term for Barak Obama.  Though our course focuses on the first half of American history, up to 1865, it would be a mistake not to include current events in the mix, especially with African American history.  I hesistate to even use the previous phrase, because I don't want to segment a separate "African American history" that will be trotted out for observation only one day or one month out of the year and then be forgotten.  As we will learn this semester, African Americans have played an intrinsic role throughout American history, to help build and shape our nation.

To phrase this another way, trying to talk about American history with only a brief mention of African Americans would be like building a brick wall without any bricks.