MOBILE, Ala. — Some people cringe at the separatist subtext under some people’s use of “black history.” History is, after all, history, period. If we racialize history, it only Balkanizes society and diminishes the commonality of the human enterprise. The term “black history” might draw some people in, but it can also make nonblack readers or viewers shrug off a piece of history that they would actually find very interesting and relevant.

On the other hand, if the point of “black history” is to revivify elements of history that had been unwisely ignored in ages past, and to reintegrate the story of those of African lineage into common frames of reference and understanding, then I couldn’t agree more — the effect is salutary and the effort worthwhile.