I've searched through the publications in the area and couldn't find any Black History Month (BHM) programs. But there sure was buzz about the Valentine Phantom- An odd, harmful, silly local lore... It was on the front page of the local paper. http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100215/NEWS01/2150337 Anyway, I didn't even realize it was BHM until NPR announced a program was sponsored by Annie E Casey Foundation in honor of BHM. Also, CNN had on another Black in America segment. And I watched a provocative short on HBO entitled Red Eye about how Black men are viewed through the lens of different perspectives.
I subscribe to the school of thought that Black History (and Native People's History and Mexican History) should be an integrated part of our society, not relegated to a particular month of the year. Besides, February has a lot of other distractions like the Olympics, Lent and as my coworkers declare, American Idol. I love the Olympics. It's the ultimate sporting event; a celebration of cultures and countries and sports. The pageantry and spectacle of it all is amazing. Plus the back stories of some of the Olympians are quite interesting. And yes, even in the Winter Olympics, there are some Black folk in there. Just last night there was an adorable young Australian ice skater whose father was Chinese and mother was Black (from Louisiana). And the night before one of the female bobsledders from Canada was Black.
Then Mark is driving down the interstate going home from a quick home improvement job and gets pulled over by a state trooper. Mark drives a late model red Dodge Ram truck with CT plates (no we haven't changed them over yet) and his records aren't quite straight. When the trooper approaches the driver's side, Mark asked him what the problem was. The trooper responded that he wanted his autograph. Mark is tall, 6 foot 5 inches tall. So he "excuse me" to the trooper. The trooper responded, "come on Mike. I know who you are. I just want your autograph for my kid." Mark responds that he is mistaken about who he is. The trooper laughs and says "I know you're Michael Jordan, I just want a quick autograph". Then a call comes over the radio and the trooper shoved the booklet at Mark. Mark scribbled his signature (which looks like scribbles). The trooper says thanks, runs back to his car and peals off. Mark said he drove 50 mph the rest of the way and didn't stop shaking til he got home.
I'm sure if we venture up to Burlington, the largest city in VT, we could find something happening. But it's not like CT or CA where there is evidence everywhere. Just something else to deal with being one of the few Blacks in VT.
