Some ISU faculty members consider Black History Month to be only a start to recognizing the achievements of African Americans.

Robert Baum, assistant professor of religious studies, said he believes Black History Month helps acknowledge the impact made by African Americans.

“I think it’s useful because it draws attention to the vital contributions that African Americans have made throughout the history of our country,” he said.

Modupe Labode, assistant professor of history, also said Black History Month is an important reminder.

“It has always been a multi-racial and multi-cultural nation,” she said. “Unfortunately in our history, we haven’t always reflected that reality. I think it’s important to set aside time to remind ourselves of the contributions of African Americans.”

Labode said she did not receive a multicultural education.

“I think even though I’m a history professor, many times when I was going to school, the history I received was primarily that of a white, middle-class America,” she said, “and I think Black History Month has been an important reminder that U.S. history is shaped by many groups of people.”

However, J. Herman Blake, director of the African-American Studies Program, said he believes Black History Month does not give the kind of credit that African Americans deserve.

“I think that African Americans are significant and important to the entire country,” said Blake, professor in educational leadership and policy studies. “This country has been built on 200 years of uncompensated labor and another 150 years of undercompensated labor. For that reason, Black History Month, is, in my opinion, only a token recognition of that.”

He said he wants to see Iowa State become a leader in honoring multiculturalism.

“I would like to see the university, as a large influence on society, provide the leadership and vision, whereby the meaningful contributions of all people — women, African Americans, Native American Indians, Hispanics and Latinos, and Asian Americans — are recognized, appreciated, understood and incorporated.

“It’s not just about African Americans; it’s about the dispossessed. I would like to see this university become a uni-versity, not a Euro-versity,” he said.

Baum said he agreed with Blake, but Black History Month is “a beginning.”

“Ideally, we should be celebrating black contributions to both American history and world history all year round, but because black history has been overlooked for so long by many people in this country, we need to try to single out black contributions to our history,” he said.

Labode agreed that black history needs the opportunity to be recognized.

“I don’t think the United States have ever come to terms with slavery or the significance of slavery and racism in shaping the country that we are now,” she said.