0 Does History Really Matter?

By: Marvin DeBose
Published in The Edinboro Spectator, Feb. 21st, 2013

"A people without the knowledge of their past history,
origin and culture is like a tree without roots" -Marcus Garvey

It can be said that seeing the curiosity and vibrancy of the youth can cause us to become more reflective of ourselves and of life in general.

I remember when I worked in a summer camp in Philadelphia about 3 years ago when I heard something from a young teen that struck my mind and caused me to reflect on many things. I was talking to a group of young camp counselors, most of them around the ages of fifteen and sixteen, while on the bus en route to a camp trip.

Somehow, one of the young counselors (who we’ll call John) mentioned the renowned poet, Maya Angelou, to which one of the young counselors, (who we’ll call Dave) responded “Who is that?”

The other counselors, in shock, asked him “You don’t know who Maya Angelou is?” Dave unashamedly responded, “No.”

John, with a shocked, semi-disgusted look on his face, began to question him, “How don’t you know Maya Angelou, don’t you know any history?” 

Dave looked John in the eye and said said something that blew me away, he said, “I don’t care about history, that’s not helping me, who cares about what happened back in the day?”

Me, being a 20-year old college student at the time, a history buff, and naturally, one of the elders of the group, I felt compelled to step in and try to “school the young brother”, as we say in Philly.

I told him, “Learning history gives you an understanding of the world around you, you gotta learn that stuff, man.”

Yet, Dave looked at me and still seemed unmoved by my attempt to “school him”, which probably came off to him as corny and preachy as a Saturday morning cartoon PSA.

This moment caused me to think, “Do we really understand the importance of history?” Fast forward to 2013, and I think to myself, “Apparently not.”

A wise man once said, "Wise people study history, because if you don't understand what was, then you can't understand what is, and you're ill-prepared for what is yet to come." Today, I clearly see where people overlook history, it’s evident in their analysis (or lack thereof) of today’s world.

We cannot make sense of the world as it is because we’ve failed to analyze the world as it was. This is part of the reason why we don’t really understand issues like discrimination, violence, poverty, inadequate education and war. We must realize that as a society, every issue, every triumph and every failure we face is rooted in   history and therefore we must study it.

This is the reason why I read books on history voraciously.

This is why I took about 7 history classes in my undergrad years, while my major was journalism.

This is why I respect people like Edinboro University professors, Dr. Joseph Laythe, Prof. Umeme Sababu, Dr. Martha Donkor, and Dr. Dennis Hickey because not only do they teach history, but they critically analyze it and help us understand its relevance to today.

So if I ever have the opportunity to speak to Dave from the summer camp again, I’ll tell him why history matters.

I’d tell him, “All history is relevant and connected to you, what happens today is a product of what happened yesterday, even you are a product of the actions of others, if you don't believe me, just ask your parents.”