The election of 2012 is now over, and however you voted (I hope you did!), America’s first African American president, Barrack Obama, has been reelected for a second term in the White House. Despite this monumental achievement, there are some who seem totally blasé about this event. 

This is the turning of history at work on our collective memories. What was once unthinkable, unimaginable, is now commonplace. Just as we now can barely remember the technology of the 1980’s (cassette tapes? really? floppy discs?), we quickly forget the struggles that took place to achieve this step in the never ending search for true equality in this country. Children born today will not remember a time when a black man had not been president.

And yet ...

It was only a few years ago, in the grand scheme of things, that America was a vastly different and less noble place.

Last month we barely noticed as October 23 passed without fanfare of any kind. What was special about October 23? See what I mean?

In 1945, America’s grand pastime, Baseball, was a divided world. Professional baseball, as played by the National and American Leagues, was a “white only” sport. African Americans were restricted to play in the Negro Leagues. On October 23, 1945, Branch Rickey, the President and General manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced that the team was signing Jackie Robinson to a contract. An African American was going to break the color barrier in baseball. The taunts and abuse endured by Mr. Robinson were brutal, and yet he continued in spite of it all. More men of color followed. And today, of course, we cannot begin to imagine professional sports of any kind without the contributions of African Americans. But 1945 was a different world. Only sixty some years ago.

The full story of these events may be set aside for another time, but the struggle itself should never be forgotten.

Nor should we forget the sacrifices made by all the other men and women, both black and white, who worked tirelessly to eradicate the barriers to freedom which had grown up over the history of this great nation.

And yet, today, it is so easy to do just that, and to forget those heroes as we struggle to get through the trials and tribulations of our own day to day lives. But that is why it is so important that children learn about these matters as they grow. Abraham Lincoln and the march to emancipation. Martin Luther King and the struggle for Civil Rights. Jackie Robinson.

You can help your children relearn these lessons from the past by introducing them to some of these great men. Read them the stories from books. Tell them the tales from memory. And if they are in school, arrange a visit from  Martin Luther King school assembly or a program on Abraham Lincoln. January is the month set aside for celebrating the birth of Dr. King. February is both Black History Month and also the month when we celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Either is a perfect time, during the winter doldrums, to liven up the school day with a visit from one of these great men.

And next time you are tempted to forget, try to remember just how hard it was to put Jackie Robinson on the field, let alone an African American in the White House.

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN