如同黑人历史月接近尾声周一晚上，美国总统乔·拜登和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在白宫东厅举行的招待会上发表讲话，庆祝这一节日。
两人吹捧他们所谓的政府在政府、住房和气候等领域为黑人社区取得的成就同时含蓄地批评了共和党的一些努力修改美国黑人历史课程。
“历史很重要，黑人历史也很重要，”拜登对黑人国会领袖、历史上黑人学院和大学的学生以及其他客人说。
“听着，我不能只选择学习我们想知道的东西。我们在应该知道了解一切的时候学习:好的、坏的、真相以及我们作为一个国家是谁，”他说。
哈里斯对此表示赞同。
“让我们都搞清楚。作为一个国家，我们不会通过试图抹去美国的过去来为美国建设一个更美好的未来，”她在一片掌声中说道。
“这个月，以及全年，我们必须认识到我们国家历史的完整弧线，”她说，并补充说，“所以在黑人历史月期间，我们庆祝过去的英雄以及那些目前接过接力棒的人。”
黑人历史——特别是它是如何被教授的以及包含了哪些观点——已经成为全国学校辩论的中心，因为共和党的一些成员已经开始谴责“黑人历史”的教学批判种族理论，“一个关于系统性种族主义的学术概念，通常在高等教育机构教授。
“我们自豪地要求教授非裔美国人的历史。我们不接受伪装成教育的灌输，”佛罗里达州教育专员曼尼·迪亚兹最近在推特上谈论他所在州的课程，该课程受到了该州的挑战，并进行了修订。
拜登在南卡罗来纳州取得决定性胜利，重振了他的2020年总统竞选，南卡罗来纳州是许多黑人选民的家乡。拜登周一开始发表讲话，感谢亲密盟友、南卡罗来纳州众议员詹姆斯·克莱伯恩(James Clyburn)以及他的政府中的黑人成员。
“没有吉姆，我不会站在这里，”拜登说。
他吹嘘他的政府的多样性，他选择了第一位女性黑人副总统和女性黑人最高法院法官凯坦吉·布朗·杰克逊，并任命了更多的黑人女性到联邦巡回法院，比“历史上任何一位总统加起来都多”。
乔·拜登总统和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯与芝加哥青年服务团的青年领袖、林德布卢姆数学和科学院的高三学生小杜维恩·波蒂斯一同抵达芝加哥，在庆祝黑人历史月的活动上发表讲话...显示更多undefined
亚历克斯·布兰登/美联社
在某一点上，拜登开始谈论他在政治生涯中与“神九”的联系，神九是由非洲裔美国人联谊会和兄弟会组成的全国泛希腊委员会。
“我可能是个白人男孩，但我不傻，”他对一轮笑声说道。
“我知道力量在哪里...我很久以前就知道了“神圣九侠”这就是为什么我花了这么多时间在特拉华州的竞选活动中，并在特拉华州组织我的竞选活动，”他说，并提到了他在特拉华州立大学的组织时间，这是一所历史上的黑人机构。
拜登还强调了他作为总统的一些工作，以及这些工作如何影响或将影响黑人社区，包括降低失业对于美国黑人来说，环境条款的通过是改革的一部分通货膨胀削减法案去年的基础设施投资立法，为帮助历史上的黑人学校和其他努力的现有拨款增加了60亿美元。
他说:“我承诺，到2025年，我作为总统授予黑人和棕色人种的小企业的合同将增加到15%。”
Biden and Harris highlight Black history, warn not to try 'to erase America's past'
AsBlack History Month draws to a close, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday evening marked the celebration by delivering remarks at a reception in the White House's East Room.
The pair touted what they called the accomplishments their administration has made for the Black community in areas like government, housing and climatewhile implicitly rebuking some Republican effortsto revise African American history courses.
"History matters and Black history matters," Biden said to an audience of Black Congressional leaders, students at historically Black colleges and universities and other guests.
"Look, I can't just choose to learn what we want to know. We learn when we should know to learn everything: the good, the bad, the truth and who we are as a nation," he said.
Harris echoed that.
"Let us all be clear. We will not as a nation build a better future for America by trying to erase America's past," she said to a round of applause.
"This month, and all year round, we must recognize the full arc of our nation's history," she said, adding, "So during Black History Month, we celebrate the heroes of the past as well as those who currently carry the baton."
Black history -- particularly how it's taught and which perspectives are included -- has become the center of debate in schools across the country as some members of the GOP have aimed to decry teachings of "critical race theory," an academic concept about systemic racism typically taught in higher education institutions.
"We proudly require the teaching of African American history. We do not accept woke indoctrination masquerading as education," Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. recently tweeted about curriculum in his state, which was challenged by the state and revised.
Biden -- whose 2020 presidential campaign was revived by his decisive win in South Carolina, home to many Black voters -- began his remarks on Monday by thanking close ally Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., along with Black members of his administration.
"I wouldn't be standing here without Jim," Biden said.
He boasted of his administration's diversity, of his selection of the first female Black vice president and female Black Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and of appointing more Black women to federal circuit courts than "than every other president in history combined."
At one point, Biden began talking about his ties to the "Divine Nine" -- the National Pan-Hellenic Council formed of African American sororities and fraternities -- throughout his life in politics.
"I may be white boy, but I'm not stupid," he said to a round of laughter.
"I know where the power is ... I learned a long time ago about the 'Divine Nine.' That's why I spent so much time in Delaware State campaigns and organizing my campaign in Delaware," he said, nodding to his time organizing at Delaware State University, a historically Black institution.
Biden also highlighted some of his work as president and how it touched or would touch Black communities, including loweringunemploymentlevels for Black Americans, the environmental provisions passed as part of the sweepingInflation Reduction Actand last year's infrastructure investment legislation, a $6 billion increase in funding for existing grants that help historically Black schools and other efforts.
"I committed by 2025, we're going to increase to 15% of every single contract I award as president will go to Black and brown small businesses," he said.
