History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history that we make today. – Henry Ford, 1916

Often misleadingly shortened to "History is bunk," Henry Ford's most memorable words state a simple truth that resonates with nearly everyone except historians: our understanding of the past is almost entirely shaped by our desires for the present. In February both the United States and Canada (and, in October, the United Kingdom), celebrate this decidedly American concept of history with Black History Month, an expansion of a tradition begun in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, then called Negro History Week. Both the Week and, later, the Month were attempts to revise a particular history to affect the present, in this case to empower a people by honoring the stories that up to then had been deliberately ignored. To deny or trivialize the history of a people effectively dehumanizes them, and allows a more powerful people to live with themselves as they continue to oppress. In announcing to the world that a history exists, that there is a past worth remembering, a people is not so easily dismissed.

But the deeper implications of such a pragmatic view of history are quite unsettling: that there is no "true" story, that the facts are as slippery as the theories, and that, given time, we might believe the exact opposite of the stories we tell today. No matter how large an historical event might seem, its very occurrence could one day be seriously questioned and, ultimately, forgotten. With thousands of eyewitnesses still alive, the existence of the Holocaust is debated. Why? Because it is useful for some to justify their present actions by "proving" that the Holocaust never happened. They are following Mr. Ford's idea that the only history of importance is, "the history that we make today."

But the observance of Black History month offers us a special time to reflect on those who made history by advancing the human race as a whole in its quest for peace and equality. The stories — the individual histories — that we remember of those that went before are told and retold to inspire us so that we may know their contributions and offer our own efforts in tribute to them.

The motivation behind honoring a people by appreciating and celebrating their history is noble; fostering respect and cooperation between races in conflict is an unquestionable good. For over 80 years the celebration in February of Black History has accomplished this goal, and that, except perhaps to Henry Ford, is not bunk.

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