Anyone who watched the Super Bowl this year was reminded that February is Black History Month. Coca-Cola ran a 30-second spot cycling through a timeline of achievements by the black community, less than seven years after the company agreed to the largest-ever settlement ($192 million) for a race discrimination lawsuit.

Whether or not the company is making an effort to buy the support of the black community raises a number of questions surrounding an issue that, sadly, remains incredibly controversial nearly 45 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream and 81 years after Carter G. Woodson was inspired to establish Negro History Week, which was later expanded to what we know today.

That we designate a specific month to celebrate the contributions blacks have made to society is a controversy within itself; many people see it as a band-aid. In a televised interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, actor Morgan Freeman noted that there exists no white history month and exclaimed, “You’re going to relegate my history to a month? I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.”

The rapid commercialization of Black History Month is the wrong means to a noble end. It is slowly transforming the opportunity for education and celebration into a perfunctory salve that can’t simply be paid off with TV spots and the same features in newspapers year after year. Just like 40 acres and a mule, it’s simply not enough to address the issues that it curtains. Does it even help, though, or is it keeping open a wound we should just let heal?

While Freeman went on to say that one way to stop racism was to “stop talking about it,” there are plenty who strongly disagree. Dr. King himself once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” There’s no easy answer, but while the achievements of blacks should certainly be celebrated, they should be celebrated year-round like the achievements of everyone else.

On that note, this editorial board fully acknowledges the fact that it has no black voice present, and cannot presume to speak for the black community. We want to hear thoughts — from blacks and everyone else — on this issue during this month. Send your comments (please hold them to 250 words) to opinion@thedaily.washington.edu. Include your name and affiliation to the University, and we’ll publish as many as space allows.