--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The argument is that Black History Month…" description: "\"“The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to its brothers of African heritage, slavery ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg" --- # The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much… ![“The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to its brothers of African heritage, slavery and torture and the like, and ignores the work of all the good white folk through the years who were nice to black people (did you know it was a…” quote by Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg) > ““The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to its brothers of African heritage, slavery and torture and the like, and ignores the work of all the good white folk through the years who were nice to black people (did you know it was a white teacher who first suggested George Washington Carver study horticulture?).”” [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrative of Black History Month often emphasizes oppression, overlooking positive contributions of white allies throughout history. **In simple terms:** History focuses on suffering, missing collaborative stories. Key Takeaway Balance narratives with both hardship and solidarity. Themes history race collaboration Mood thoughtful critical Type historical educational When to use this quote - education curricula - public commemorations - media coverage - community dialogues Key Concepts systemic oppression allyualism historical narrative Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate stories of allyship? - What impact does a balanced view have on reconciliation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on trauma can skew understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-history/) [Black history month](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-history-month/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) ## Related quotes > [“I look around. You'd have to be out of your fucking mind to write, as Marcus did, that Black History Month is a ploy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-look-around-you-d-have-to-be-out-of-your-fucking-mind-to-write-as/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Today marks the first day of black history month. Do a little research. Remember your ancestors and the greats who are the reason for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-marks-the-first-day-of-black-history-month-do-a-little-research/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be honest, I think Black History Month, it's become much bigger than it used to be because a lot of people are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/to-be-honest-i-think-black-history-month-it-s-become-much-bigger-than/) [Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/) > [Black History Month is to celebrate African & African American excellence, not African & African American ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna/black-history-month-is-to-celebrate-african-african-american/) [Anna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna/) > [Too often, Black History Month is a once a year tick box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-love/too-often-black-history-month-is-a-once-a-year-tick-box/) [Judi Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-love/) > [Happy Black History Month! Thank my ancestors for providing a firm foundation for me and my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-black-history-month-thank-my-ancestors-for-providing-a-firm/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Black History Month is dedicated to heroes that paved the way for Black people. It's a month that's very imperative because it gives those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alana-beard/black-history-month-is-dedicated-to-heroes-that-paved-the-way-for/) Alana Beard > [They oughtta change Black History Month to Black Progress Month and start measuring it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/they-oughtta-change-black-history-month-to-black-progress-month-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Every year, Black History Month presents an opportunity to honor the legacy, contributions, and rich history of Black Americans and how they have shaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/every-year-black-history-month-presents-an-opportunity-to-honor-the/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [You know, when you've idolized something, you put it on a shelf, lift it up, and when King Day comes out, you pull it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/you-know-when-you-ve-idolized-something-you-put-it-on-a-shelf-lift-it/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Black History Month is an annual opportunity to recognize the central role of African Americans in our state's economic, cultural, social and political history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bel-edwards/black-history-month-is-an-annual-opportunity-to-recognize-the-central/) [John Bel Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bel-edwards/) > [This Black History Month, celebrate and remember diverse leaders of the past, present and future!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-black-history-month-celebrate-and-remember-diverse-leaders-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is no black history month, the entire human race calendar is black.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-is-no-black-history-month-the-entire-human-race-calendar-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Black History Month is when our nation comes together to reflect on the Black community's immense contributions to our country's storied history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-donalds/black-history-month-is-when-our-nation-comes-together-to-reflect-on/) [Byron Donalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-donalds/) > [Black History Month must be more than just a month of remembrance; it should be a tribute to our history and reminder of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-meehan/black-history-month-must-be-more-than-just-a-month-of-remembrance-it/) [Marty Meehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-meehan/) ## More by Matt Taibbi > [ The Congressional Record will forever show that \[Obamacare\] was passed in a romper room of overgrown children seemingly barely old enough to keep from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-congressional-record-will-forever-show-that-obamacare-was-passed/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Sniper is a movie whose politics are so ludicrous and idiotic that under normal circumstances it would be beneath criticism. The only thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/sniper-is-a-movie-whose-politics-are-so-ludicrous-and-idiotic-that/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [I get the cynicism thing all the time, although I don't really know where that comes from, because I think I'm actually the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-get-the-cynicism-thing-all-the-time-although-i-don-t-really-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's really interesting that we've had this great Tea Party movement that is all about restoring free market capitalist values, but what they completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-really-interesting-that-we-ve-had-this-great-tea-party-movement/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [To be robbed and betrayed by a fiendish underground conspiracy, or by the earthly agents of Satan, is at least a romantic sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/to-be-robbed-and-betrayed-by-a-fiendish-underground-conspiracy-or-by/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > ['Nobody goes to jail.' This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/nobody-goes-to-jail-this-is-the-mantra-of-the-financial-crisis-era/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The basic scam in the Internet age is pretty easy even for the financially illiterate to grasp. It was as if banks like Goldman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-basic-scam-in-the-internet-age-is-pretty-easy-even-for-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [For the broadcast business to be successful, viewers need to be not merely interested in our political melodramas, they have to be in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/for-the-broadcast-business-to-be-successful-viewers-need-to-be-not/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-not-a-stretch-to-say-the-whole-financial-industry-revolves/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You know what an effective deterrent to crime is? Jail! And do you know what kind of criminal penalty actually makes people think twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/you-know-what-an-effective-deterrent-to-crime-is-jail-and-do-you-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the Rothschilds and the Masons and the Illuminati, we skeptics owe you an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/conspiracy-theorists-of-the-world-believers-in-the-hidden-hands-of/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Like wars, forest fires and bad marriages, really stupid laws are much easier to begin than they are to end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/like-wars-forest-fires-and-bad-marriages-really-stupid-laws-are-much/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You can have somebody living next door to you and you can live in a completely different world from that person, which is definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/you-can-have-somebody-living-next-door-to-you-and-you-can-live-in-a/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [George Bush and John Ashcroft were religious in a scary way, but the rational among us could always take heart that, deep down, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/george-bush-and-john-ashcroft-were-religious-in-a-scary-way-but-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“People aren't pissed just to be pissed. They're mad because a tiny group of crooks on Wall Street built themselves beach houses in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/people-aren-t-pissed-just-to-be-pissed-they-re-mad-because-a-tiny/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) [Explore all 175 Matt Taibbi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## More Black history quotes > [“Later that year, the Voting Rights Act opened the door for thousands to register for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius-williams/later-that-year-the-voting-rights-act-opened-the-door-for-thousands/) [Junius Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius-williams/) > [“Any ministry to black people which is not designed to effect their empowerment is designed to perpetuate their enslavement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-ministry-to-black-people-which-is-not-designed-to-effect-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading the writers of poems, seeing a painting, listening to some music, some opera, which has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/my-horizon-on-humanity-is-enlarged-by-reading-the-writers-of-poems/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/the-war-that-killed-my-grandfather-and-great-uncles-and-thousands-of/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [When you have a large amount of the workforce being laid off, some of them have no other choice but to go out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/when-you-have-a-large-amount-of-the-workforce-being-laid-off-some-of/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [I didn't learn black history in school. I had to go find Malcolm X books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/i-didn-t-learn-black-history-in-school-i-had-to-go-find-malcolm-x/) [Rza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I do consider myself part of black history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-do-consider-myself-part-of-black-history/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [ \[W\]e are the heirs of a past of rope, fire, and murder. I for one am not ashamed of this past. My shame is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/w-e-are-the-heirs-of-a-past-of-rope-fire-and-murder-i-for-one-am-not/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Happy Black History Month everyone. I challenge you blacks to change how other races view us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-black-history-month-everyone-i-challenge-you-blacks-to-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That was when I realized we weren’t born to be slaves. It was ignorant for any man to think he could be the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-grewal/that-was-when-i-realized-we-weren-t-born-to-be-slaves-it-was-ignorant/) [Jay Grewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-grewal/) > [For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/for-children-diversity-needs-to-be-real-and-not-merely-relegated-to/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unconditional-love-will-have-the-final-word-in-reality/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I was often filled with excitement to be given a platform to showcase Black history to others. I never questioned why Black history wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-love/i-was-often-filled-with-excitement-to-be-given-a-platform-to-showcase/) [Judi Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-love/) [Browse all 299 Black history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to its brothers of African heritage, slavery and torture and the like, and ignores the work of all the good white folk through the years who were nice to black people (did you know it was a white teacher who first suggested George Washington Carver study horticulture?).”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Taibbi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-argument-is-that-black-history-month-dwells-too-much-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black history" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-argument-is-that-black-history-month-dwells-too-much-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/matt-taibbi-2257_black-history_the-argument-is-that-black-history-month_582458.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to…” — Matt Taibbi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Matt Taibbi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The argument is that Black History...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-argument-is-that-black-history-month-dwells-too-much-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-argument-is-that-black-history-month-dwells-too-much-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```