Ruthe, when you say, "This generation of African-Americans have been severely limited in their understanding and knowledge of their past. It is upon the shoulders of those who know and understand the past that we do what is necessary to inform and teach this generation; so they, too, can know who they are and where they are going," you've got that right!
As a public school teacher in the urban core, it does boggle my mind how many of our young Black youth know nothing of their heritage. I had one student who was bristling because his teacher wasn't planning something special for Black History Month. That's because the World History classes that she teaches always includes the roles of Blacks in that time. She is a child of the Civil Rights Era, and she does understand the importance. With the push toward more time spent on reading and math, history just isn't taught in elementary and middle school. Since the state mandates courses in history for high schoolers, they get some history, but not nearly enough.
Thanks for bringing this important subject to people's attention.
