WTF? Black History Month Edition

I remember asking myself in grade school, "What does it matter that George Washington Carver thought up some 300 uses for peanuts?"

Let me preface this post by noting I am currently taking a civil rights class in school, and have the utmost respect for the late Martin Luther King Jr., his message, and vision for humanity, as well as the continued movement itself. My friends classify me as a "liberal," among other things. With the Buckster, its almost become a term of endearment, in leiu of his earlier, detestable qualifications--n*****, lover of the same, and the like.

That having been said, admittedly, I have yet to grasp the true significance of George Washington Carver. Was it that he had very little funding, and the peanut was the only plantlife he had in abundance? Or simply that he was a black scientist? The Thew once rebuked the idea of Black History Month as a whole--"Can't we get this done in a week?"

I'm interested in your thoughts, not so much on the astounding work GWC did with so little, and what he means to thousands of disadvantaged students everywhere, but whether or not Black History Month ever was, or continues to be a worthwhile and meaningful endeavor for our great nation. Please, keep it relatively clean. Forum's open.