Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

Historian Sylvia Alden Roberts has = written=20 extensively on the role African American miners played during the = Gold=20 Rush.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
The election of Barack Obama = as president=20 of the United States has sparked a new round of debate across the = country over=20 whether Black History Month is empowering for African Americans, or=20 condescending to them.

With the heated question in the public = view again,=20 some historians in the foothills are protesting that before we scratch = Black=20 History Month, it's time to first acknowledge the unique and forgotten=20 contributions of black Americans to building the Mother Lode during the=20 California Gold Rush.

The newest salvos against Black History = Month are=20 coming from some cultural critics and academics alike. Many have long = argued=20 that African American history should be incorporated into year-round = education.=20 Now, claims that black history is outdated are gaining new potency, as = schools=20 diversify their curricula and President Obama's election opens a new = chapter in=20 the nation's racial journey.

"If Obama's election means anything, = it=20 means that Africa American history is American history and should be = remembered=20 and recognized every day of the year," said Stephen Donovan, a = 41-year-old=20 lawyer. Ending "paternalistic" observances like Black History Month, = Donovan=20 believes, would lead to "not only a reduction of racism, but whites more = ready=20 and willing and able to celebrate our difference, enjoy our traditions, = without=20 feeling the stain of guilt that stifles frank dialogue and acceptance = across=20 cultures."

So, is our nation on its way to being color-blind? = According=20 to Pine Grove Elementary School librarian Ginger Rolf, that may be = somewhat true=20 of the young children she works with.

"After the election, a = number of=20 the children were talking to me with a lot of excitement about Barack = Obama,"=20 Rolf said. "They seemed to understand that history had been made, though = not one=20 of them mentioned the color of his skin.

"I think what they're = hearing=20 and repeating is that this is a president that will help different = people get=20 along," Rolf continued. "That's something elementary students actually=20 understand in a way - they know the rules of the playground are that = everyone is=20 supposed to get along. They see our president in that light, though it = doesn't=20 seem like they really notice that he's black."

But racial = progress in=20 school, and incorporating black history seamlessly into general history=20 programs, may not address the parts of black history that have been=20 ignored.

Tomorrow, historian Sylvia Alden Roberts will use Black = History=20 Month as a punctuation mark for her talk at Columbia College in Sonora = about the=20 intriguing legacy black Americans have in building the communities of = Tuolumne,=20 Calaveras and Amador in the wake of gold being discovered in the Mother=20 Lode.

Roberts is the executive director of the Mother Lode Black = Heritage=20 Foundation and author of "Mining for Freedom: Black History Meets the = California=20 Gold Rush."

At its heart, Roberts said her book "celebrates a = starkly=20 under-reported but proud legacy" of the estimated 5,000 black Argonauts = who=20 helped lay the ground work for California's statehood - many of whom = were=20 brought over as slaves by southern transplants and used prospecting as a = means=20 to work their way to emancipation.

"I first got interested in the = topic=20 of black miners when I moved to Tuolumne County in 1992 with my husband = and=20 discovered our home was on the National Registry because it was built by = slaves=20 in 1857," Roberts explained. "I looked into the family who had built it = and=20 discovered it was constructed by William Sugg, a slave who had bought = his=20 freedom for $1. Today, we think of California as a place that was always = a free=20 state, but the truth is slavery was practiced here. Sugg is one of many = stories=20 of men and women who were brought here and gained freedom."

The = research=20 Roberts has done has been met with wide enthusiasm by professional and = amateur=20 historians alike through the Mother Lode - a number of whom have joined = her=20 foundation.

"History fans in Tuolumne County and Calaveras County = have=20 been very supportive and excited about building a repository for this = particular=20 part of local history," Roberts said. "We would love to extend that to = Amador=20 County if anyone has done research on the topic or is interest in = finding what=20 stories lie there. This work is a great opportunity to honor the memory = and=20 dignity of a group of individuals who have thus far been a bit invisible = to=20 mainstream history."

Roberts' guest appearance at Columbia = College is at=20 7 p.m. in the Dogwood Forum Theatre on Sawmill Flat Road in Sonora. = There is no=20 charge for admission.

The Associated Press contributed to this = report.

Scott Thomas = Anderson