Black History Month

I don't love the concept of Black History Month. In school I was encouraged (forced) to complete my independent study project (which happen to be assigned in February) on the history of the African-Caribbean people in Canada. Ever since I find I can't get into the spirit of Black History Month. I understand the importance in knowing where you come from, however my heritage here in Canada (the African-Caribbean side anyways) begins and ends at my dad. I do feel a certain sense of obligation so here it goes:

Did you know that…
February was designated as Black History Month after passage of a motion introduced by MP Jean Augustine – the first black Canadian woman to hold a federal cabinet post – in December 1995.
The first recorded person of African origin to travel to Canada was Mathieu Da Costa, an interpreter who accompanied French explorers Pierre Du Gua De Monts and Samuel de Champlain on their voyages at the beginning of the 1600s. Da Costa helped the French explorers communicate with the Mi'kmaq and understand their culture.
Approximately 662,000 Canadians identified themselves as black in the 2001 Census. The majority of these (78.4 percent) live in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Vancouver and Halifax.
Today, most of Canada's black population is of Caribbean background.
The first black Canadian Member of Parliament was Lincoln Alexander, who held his seat from 1968 until 1980. Alexander was also the first black person in Canada to be appointed to a vice-regal position, after he was named Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario in 1985.
Canada's current Governor-General, Michaelle Jean, is the first African-Caribbean person to hold this post.

Interesting fact: My grandfather looks just like Lincoln Alexander and is often mistaken for him at the airport and while visiting Toronto.

That's about as much as I can do on Black History Month (no real effort was exerted in the making of this post, basically if I'd done any less research I would have been making stuff up).