Black liberation flag raised at Monmouth U.
Annual ceremony kicks off Black History Month activities at university
Chris Kelly Dean Kevin Banks (l) and Elijah Wilkerson prepare the black liberation flag to be hung on the flag pole on the great lawn at Monmouth University Friday.
WEST LONG BRANCH — After listening to a litany of inventions by African Americans that have helped make America what it is today, a knot of about 15 people watched as the black liberation flag was raised over the campus of Monmouth University Feb. 1 to kick off Black History Month.
Kevin Banks, dean of residential life at the college, handed the flag to Elijah Wilkerson, who stood atop a ladder leaning against the flagpole on the great lawn to attach the flag to the lanyard already holding the American and Monmouth University flags and hoisted it again on high.
"Black history is American history, and the history of America would not be so without black people," Banks told those gathered at the flagpole, most of them faculty members or other employees of the university.
"We can celebrate any ethnicity any month or day because in America we have the freedom to celebrate the different diversity," he added.
Brooks said after the flag raising that this was the 11th year a flag ceremony has been held at the university to usher in Black History Month.
He said when the red, black and green black liberation flag was initially raised in the early years, there were some complaints about it, but, he said, in the last few years there haven’t been any. He explained that the black liberation flag was created by Marcus Garvey, who was a civil rights leader and head of the Back to Africa movement in the 1920s.
"His philosophy was basic — we’re not wanted here – let’s go back to Africa," Banks said in his speech. "He created a flag which symbolizes the liberation struggle of black people. The red stands for the blood that was shed by the black people during their passage from Africa to America. The black obviously stands for the people who were taken from their land, and the green is for the pastures — the green fields — back in Africa."
Asked if raising the black liberation flag could be construed as a militant action, Banks said it should not be and was not intended to be.
"It’s just symbolizing the struggle of African Americans," he said. "And it’s a celebration … of [black] contributions to the United States of America."
Before the flag was raised, Banks read an item he got off the Internet that told the mythical story of a group of white Americans who were fed up with African Americans and so joined together and wished themselves away. After passing through a deep, dark tunnel, they emerged into sort of a twilight zone where there’s an America without black people.
"It’s kind of humorous," he said at the outset before reading the piece.
Banks said initially the white Americans breathed a sigh of relief because there were no blacks around.
"Then suddenly a new reality sets in," he said. "This new America is not America at all, only a barren land. No crops flourish because the nation was built on a slave-supported system. There are no skyscrapers in the cities because (a black man) invented the elevator."
The article went on to describe the America these white people were living in without such inventions by black people as the automatic gear shift, the internal combustion engine, the traffic signal, the electric trolley, the street sweeper, the postmarking and canceling machine, the lawn sprinkler, the lawn mower, the air conditioner, the heating furnace, the mop, the dustpan, the ironing board and the refrigerator.
"What would this world be without the contributions of black folks," the article asked. "Black history includes more than just slavery."
After the flag-raising, Banks said, "It’s sad that we have to be relegated to a 28-day calendar where we feel that we have to kind of promote our diversity, but these are the times we live in, so this is what we do.
"The university is committed to celebrating African American History Month, and we have a calendar of events," Banks added. "And we have events throughout the year. It’s just that this is the month it’s celebrated."
Oty Agbajoh-Laoye, a native of Nigeria who teaches in the English Department and is director of African American studies, said the flag ceremony was a celebration of remembrance of historical importance.
"It’s celebrating diversity and also getting people to reconcile," she said.