RUBEN NAVARRETTE JR.: Black History Month gets drowned out by white noise

February was Black History Month, a time for remembering. Alas, the 2022 edition was so dreadful that it is worth forgetting.

I blame white folks. Having always run the show in America, white people are finally feeling “othered” — and they don’t like it. So they spoiled the celebration. A lot of white Americans are tired of anything that is seen as accommodating to Black people.

The newest target is Black History Month.

Because I’m neither Black nor white, I can see clearly when one of America’s primary colors trashes a party that was intended for the other. Having 20/20 vision on racial issues is one of the benefits of being Hispanic American.

I chose the phrase “Hispanic American” to rankle both the right and the left, neither of which cares for the modifier. Some conservatives try to bully me into calling myself a plain ol’ American. Meanwhile, some liberals despise the word “Hispanic” because it was coined by the administration of Republican President Richard Nixon.

In 1976, another Republican president, Gerald Ford, decreed Black History Month a national observance.

“In celebrating Black History Month,” Ford said in his official message, “we can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

But, in 2022, many Republicans are fine with neglect. GOP-controlled legislatures in several states are worried that snowflakish white students might feel awkward sitting through lectures about slavery, lynchings and rapes along with systemic racism, discrimination and violence against Black people. So state lawmakers actually passed restrictions on what can, and cannot, be taught during Black History Month.

I remember when Republicans used to support “local control” in education.

As someone who majored in U.S. history in college, I spent years studying America — blemishes and all. Back then, we just called it “truth.” I bet it never occurred to my professors to encase students in bubble wrap.

While America is not perfect, she is so much stronger than those who want to sanitize history believe her to be.

Another thing that marred Black History Month this year is the continued mistreatment of African Americans.

■ On Feb. 2, Minneapolis police killed a Black man, Amir Locke. The 22-year-old was lying on the couch, and under a blanket, when he was shot seconds after SWAT officers burst into his apartment to serve a “no-knock” warrant intended for someone else. Video footage from an officer’s body cam shows that Locke was holding a gun, but it’s not clear if the young man realized it was police officers and not armed intruders who busted into his residence.

■ On Feb. 15, New York City Mayor Eric Adams caused a stir in the Big Apple when he claimed that a press corps made up mostly of white liberals was covering him unfairly because they can’t relate to a Black man. Much of the New York media snidely dismissed Adams’ criticism as a “rant.” The New York Post editorial board twisted the whole episode into a soft pretzel: “On top of everything else, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday insulted the black members of the city press corps by claiming they’d go easy on him.” Adams did no such thing. He merely demanded better from the same media that often demands better from him and other elected officials.

■ On Feb. 18, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, former police officer Kim Potter — who was convicted by a jury of first- and second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting 20-year-old African American Daunte Wright in April 2021 after she said she mistook her gun for a Taser — was sentenced to just two years in prison. Potter, who is white, could get “supervised release” in 16 months.

■ On Feb. 22, three white men who were already convicted in state court of chasing and killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020 outside Brunswick, Georgia, were found guilty of committing federal hate crimes. The tragic story suggests that, in some respects, America hasn’t come nearly as far as it likes to think.

■ Lastly, as the month drew to a close, President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She would be the first Black woman to sit on the panel. The historic event has been tainted by the snarky accusation, from assorted white men in politics and media, that Biden is making an “affirmative action” pick to a body that is ironically expected, later this year, to end affirmative action.

Thank goodness that February is the shortest month. We needed to turn the page. C’mon, March. Save us.

Ruben Navarrette’s email address is crimscribe@icloud.com. His podcast, “Ruben in the Center,” is available through every podcast app.