Was Enough Done to Commemorate The Year of African Descent?

Black History Month is celebrated throughout the month of February in the United States. During this month, we honor and recognize the achievements of people of African descent in this country. And speaking of honoring, did you know that 2011 was deemed The International Year for People of African Descent?

Many, including The Grio, point out a lack of publicity that allowed the year and its message to go by with little notice.

To celebrate and acknowledge people of African descent around the globe, the United Nations dedicated pages to the Year of African Descent on their various websites, along with an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony. In addition, the State Department had a DipNotes blog post from Julissa Reynoso.

But in an era of Twitter, Facebook, Digg and Tumblr, how else could the UN have promoted and celebrated one third of the population of the Western Hemisphere? There were bloggers and members of the community that spread the word and celebrated the event, but what about the mainstream media? Should the UN have made television spots and YouTube videos? And could the U.S. have done more to commemorate the Year of African Descent?

How could The Year of African Descent been pushed to the forefront of media buzz? Who could have done more? Did you celebrate? What should we do to continue celebrating people of African descent?

Tell us what you think. Habla!

{Photo: The Grio}