By Sydney Portilla-Diggs
Campus Correspondent

The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History has established the national theme for the month-long African-American History Month celebration since 1926.

Although the national theme for the year 2006 is “Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social, and Civic Institutions,” Collin’s African-American History Month Committee chair Cathy Donald-Whitney embraced the concept of Ubuntu: Humanity Towards Others, which was introduced by Collin’s Center for Scholarly and Civic Engagement (CSCE) Director Regina Hughes.

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is difficult to translate literally. Ubuntu is an Nguni word from South Africa, which refers to our common humanity and embraces ideas of community self-reliance, mutual social responsibility and mutual assistance. According to Barbara Nussbaum in "African Culture and Ubuntu: Reflections of a South African in America," “Ubuntu is a social philosophy, a way of being, a code of ethics and behavior deeply embedded in African culture.” Desmond Tutu resurrected the ancient South African philosophy in his sermons against apartheid. He encouraged the blacks and whites to unify through reconciliation, mutual respect and reciprocity. Tutu’s interpretation of the Ubuntu philosophy exemplifies “The Golden Rule”—treating others the way you would like to be treated. Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu—A person is a person because of other. In other words, I am I because you are you. If you suffer, I suffer as well. If you are respected, I am respected as well.

According to Collin student Phillipus Strydom who is from South Africa, “The new South Africa is built on the principles of ubuntu.”

However, the concept of ubuntu is not a new philosophy. The more I learn about ubuntu the more I learn that evidences of our interconnectedness are apparent in our daily lives. The spirit of ubuntu demonstrates our humanity towards others. A few short days ago, I sat in a hospital room and watched my mother take two full units of blood in an emergency transfusion. The donor has no idea how profoundly our family was affected by his generosity. Nonetheless, the blood of some anonymous stranger saved my mother’s life and is now flowing through her veins. Can you find an example of a random act of kindness in your life’s experience?

Ubuntu philosophy deals in terms of the socially marginalized—the proverbial “outsiders.” All too often, if a person is not a minority he or she may rarely think of the proverbial outsiders or may mistakenly think that these issues only affect minorities and not the mainstream people. Most minorities are intensely conscious of how society isolates them and how much it affects their lives, their work place and everything around them.

The ubuntu philosophy fosters an understanding that an urgency is needed to promote both a sociological and a global perspective because the world keeps ‘getting smaller and smaller’ thanks to technology. In fact, sociology and the ubuntu philosophy are closely related because of the focus on the relationships between people.

Personally, I am ashamed that I have never been interested in Africa before. At first, my only interest lay in discovering some background information surrounding the theological philosophy of Ubuntu. I now know that Ubuntu goes beyond the black/white issue of apartheid. Ubuntu goes beyond the issues that lead to European colonization of the natives on the American continent and the whole institution of slavery.

Because the psyche of Western society drives one to conquer, dominate and compete, I know that I must have the capacity inside of me. The philosophy of Ubuntu has awakened something inside my soul. I finally feel a connection to my African ancestry.

Why do we celebrate African-American History Month?

Recently, actor Morgan Freeman expressed his opinion that the idea of a month for African-American History was ludicrous. In addition, Freeman suggested that talking about it only reinforces racism. According to Collin adjunct lecturer of speech Robin Fletcher, “Morgan Freeman is among [his] favorite actors.”

However, Fletcher does not believe that Freeman’s arguments are “rational, reasonable and logical in our fragile nation.” Furthermore, Fletcher believes that “[our nation] must try to learn from past flaws and failures, and thus avoid repetition of the bad by learning from it...[to cease talking] about racism will not cure our nation of this problem.” Collin professor Cathy Donald-Whitney became the chair for the African-American History Month (AAHM) five or six years ago.

For Donald-Whitney, African-American History Month is important because “it is the nucleus of a bigger concept—the quest for unity in diversity.” However, Donald-Whitney’s biggest concern is the continuation of our society “going through the motions.”

As she continues to chair the AAHM committee, her hope is that more faculty, staff and students will become involved in the observance of ethnic holidays. In Donald-Whitney’s opinion, “Instructors, staff and students who have never been involved in the activities may [mistakenly] believe it does not concern then when these events are society events not just ethnic observances.”

Collin student Devon Boyd believes that he feels like most African-Americans.

“I am not too fond of having only one month, and that [it is] the shortest one, to recognize the history of my people. Whether people believe it or not, African-Americans have paved the way for many other ethnicities and cultures.”

Like the acclaimed actor Freeman, Boyd believes that African-American History is American History.

“I strongly believe African-American history should be a part of the educational curriculum like all the rest of the world’s history and not singled out.”

The Importance of Perspective Inclusion not exclusion is the key to our survival as a nation. The way our society chooses to deal with the issue of African-American History can either reinforce or threaten the cultural identity of our society.

This issue continues to raise the question of identity. Our personal experiences or our lack of personal experiences and the people we allow ourselves to be exposed to can determine how we continue to identify one another.

With the precepts of ubuntu : respect, reconciliation, unity, reciprocity and responsibility that lead to action, our society can learn to look at things differently than we have in the past.

Until that day comes, African-American History Month gives all Americans the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary contributions of African-Americans in American culture. African-American History month is the legacy of Carter G. Woodson.

To learn more about ubuntu , access the following PDFs:

Solnussbaumarticle.pdf
Perspectives050703.pdf 
Perspectives%20021203.pdf