Black History Month is one of those things that can incite some real anger in people, and if we’re being wholly honest, it’s not difficult to understand why. The event has been mutated and corrupted, and it’s now no longer about Black history.

For all intents and purposes, the story of many black people throughout America’s history is phenomenal, with many going from a slave to someone who helped define what freedom in America means. Their actions and words would echo through the generations, inspiring values and wisdom in people of all races.

It’s worth learning about. It’s worth teaching our children. Within Black history is the proof that no matter who you are, where you start, or what you have to work with, it will never stop you from becoming something greater. A person who was a slave can become one of the most important voices in a nation, just like Frederick Douglass. A woman living in a world where she’s a second-class citizen can defy the oppression of authoritarians and become the face of a movement of true equality just like Rosa Parks. A black woman whose parents were once slaves can become a multi-millionaire entrepreneur just like Madam C.J. Walker.

It was the Black race that inspired many freedom movements throughout our country’s history. They are an integral part of it and we should know it.

But it’s true that Black History Month has become something else, especially over the last couple of decades. Activists and politicians have begun using it as a way to create division, especially among races. Now it’s about highlighting the victimization of the Black community in many forms. Now it’s boiled down to the issues the Black community has to put up within a society that looks down on them constantly.

There are entities out there that use the stories of Black history in order to foment distrust, division, victimization, and hatred. It’s hard not to hear it from a mainstream media program at the best of times, but it gets kicked into high gear in February. The New York Times encouraged Black people to take the month off in the name of racial justice. TikTok is under attack because white creators have been making posts about it, accusing the platform and Whites of trying to co-opt the month from them. CNN is currently using it as an excuse to push CRT.

These entities have taken Black History Month and made it about today’s politics.

When you use what should be a celebration of a history of overcoming struggle and inspiring stories and use it as an ideological bludgeon to beat someone over the head, it’s only natural that the bludgeoned will become upset and push back.

This isn’t to say that highlighting how the Black community struggled against many White people in the past shouldn’t be done, but they only tell half the story when they use it as a modern political tool. Many white people were also integral to the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement. They leave out that Black and White worked side by side to bring this nation to greater heights.

Moreover, these entities put the blame for the wrongdoing of White people who did reject equality for all squarely on the shoulders of every White person living today. They’re being made guilty of the sins of other people and that’s not right. They also completely leave out the story of how the slave trade took place with cooperation from many Black leaders.

Black History Month isn’t the problem; in fact, it’s very valuable when the entire story is told. The issue is that people aren’t telling the story of Black history, they’re telling only parts of it in order to serve an agenda that includes massive amounts of division.

This doesn’t inspire conversation, it promotes a culture of opposition. It creates victims and oppressors. It creates villains and pseudo-heroes like Colin Kaepernick.

Like most things touched by the leftist agenda, Black History Month has been perverted and corrupted to suit the needs of the powerful and ambitious, instead of being a tool to reinforce the values of freedom, independence, equality, and unity between races.

Celebrating Black History Month is a good thing because it tells the story of not just one race, but an entire country’s quest for freedom and goodness. As such, we shouldn’t curse it, but we should definitely call out those who wish to repurpose it into a tool for evil.

Throughout this month you’re going to see posts go up on RedState celebrating Black History in the way that it should be celebrated. Within these stories can be found inspiration, knowledge, and perspectives you may not have previously been introduced to. This is what’s great about the celebration. You learn more about a people, about your country, and about what we’re capable of when we work together.