As blacks in the United States consider their history, they should realize they are Americans, not Africans, and they cannot necessarily go back and recapture their past in Africa, says Clarence E. Walker, a professor of history at UC Davis. February is designated as Black History Month. Walker, who studies black American history, says he believes Afrocentrism -- identifying Africa as the source of what's positive in the West -- is a dubious argument. "I don't think any culture is as central" as Afrocentrism advocates say, Walker says. "The civilization of the world has a variety of sources, not solely from Africa. The issue is much more complex than the Afrocentrists are willing to admit." Further, Walker says he believes the past should be studied to gain understanding, "not necessarily to get self-esteem." Walker is the author of "Deromanticizing Black History," a 1991 book that recently won recognition from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in the United States. The honor recognizes noteworthy scholarship on intolerance in the United States.