Black History Month provides valuable life lessons

Frontiersman editorial board

Each February, Americans celebrate Black History Month, and take a look back at some of the most influential African-Americans in our history. From examining the past, we gain a better perspective on our future.

Last month, the Valley celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the second-annual remembrance, and the event has only gotten bigger and bigger - this year, there were several other events planned around the Valley in conjunction with the day.

It's good to see the Valley embracing such an influential man, someone who revolutionized race relations in the United States. But Martin Luther King Jr. Day, like Black History Month, is about much more than one man - it's about a movement, and the evolution of America's thinking.

As the Valley continues its astounding growth, more diversity is naturally going to appear, and that should be a welcome byproduct of growth. As our population continues to boom, faces of different colors show up in the crowd, different religious viewpoints emerge and our differences get celebrated.

Those are all positives, and we all can learn from each other. There need not be walls surrounding those differences.

How we manage that diversity is of utmost importance, however. We must embrace our ethnic, cultural and religious differences, bringing all these groups to the discussions, be they in the political arena or the private sector.

If we omit anyone, based on those differences, we will be no better off today than during the time of Martin Luther King Jr., when he had to drink out of a different water fountain based solely on the color of his skin.

By bringing in the viewpoints of each group, we all can grow as a society - both locally in the Valley and nationwide as a country.

Thankfully, we have moved beyond the years when men and women were judged based on the color of their skin. This month, take some time to appreciate how far we have come as a society.

Black History Month celebrates African-Americans and their contributions to America's history, but it also serves as a lesson for us all on how our thinking has changed, for the better.