Against Celebrating "[insert preferred ethnicity here] History Month"

The absurdity of celebrating “[insert preferred ethnicity here] History Month,” is it promotes the fallacy that ethnicity, in and of itself, is a factor in an individual accomplishing the thing(s) for which he or she is being lauded. But melanin, which is static, inert, and immutable aspect of one’s personhood, has no power, ability, or capacity to affect such a thing.

The truth is God, in creating every human being in His image (Genesis 1:27), endowed individuals with a mind to think, judge, discern, imagine, contemplate, and create. The mind is not “racial.” It functions completely independent of skin color. Conversely, melanin is not dynamic. What I mean by “dynamic” is that melanin is not active, but on the contrary, is an entirely passive characteristic of one’s personhood, particularly with regard to its capacity to affect motives, attitudes, and behaviors.

Unlike the mind, melanin does not think, it does not judge, it does not discern, it does not draw conclusions, it does not contemplate, imagine, or decide. Those things are all operations borne in the mind. The 17th century English Puritan John Owen put that idea this way, saying, “The mind is a leading faculty of the soul. When the mind fixes upon an object or course of action, the will and the affections (heart) follow suit. They are incapable of any other consideration . . . the mind’s office is to guide, to direct, to choose and to lead” (Source: Of Temptation. In The Works of John Owen, edited by William H. Goold, vol. 6, 96–97. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967).

Did you get that?

Owen said, “the mind’s office is to guide, to direct, to choose and to lead.”

Melanin does none of those things.

None.

So to whatever extent “[insert preferred ethnicity here] History Month” is to be celebrated, it should be done in the spirit of celebrating the person, not his or her pigmentation, which in reality plays absolutely no role—none whatsoever—in their achieving the accomplishments for which they may be deserving of our gratitude and appreciation.

Instead, let us glorify God who, in His common grace (Matthew 5:45), endowed those men and women with the faculties, gifts, and talents that have contributed to making life in this sinful world better for us all.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Darrell B. Harrison

Image credit: https://students.umw.edu/multicultural/programs/black-history-month-celebration/