Don’t let your celebration be limited to the month of February. Extend your celebration, learning, and recognition of Black history throughout the year. Challenge your biases about Black people. Read books by Black authors. Watch films by Black screenwriters. Support Black businesses. Let Black people share their histories, and listen.
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Even as this country celebrates Black History Month every February, there seems to be an astounding hate for Blackness and Black people. Our ancestors have not only fought in this country’s wars and been instrumental in the construction of this nation, we are as deeply invested as other Americans in the righting of this place we call home.
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Black women are vibrant and beautiful. Black women cannot be cut down. We are intricately connected to uplift and support one another. We are flowers and we are so much more. We are beautiful, we are weeds, we are survivors.
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The rejection of this curriculum is squarely situated in the territory of “political agenda” — one that values the experiences and history of white people above others: white supremacy. Black history is not a political agenda. It is a truth, a lived experience, a celebration. It offers vital context for understanding dynamics that continue to play out today, at all levels of systems.
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As February comes to a close, the celebration of Black history does not end. We must continue to celebrate the making of new history… of Black futures. With inspiration from The Movement for Black Lives, we want to honor the Black dreamers and visionaries who are building that future right now. Below are 15 young Black people who are expanding what is possible for our world and affirming, celebrating, and defending Black lives through their resistance and their joy.
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Resilience is a myth touted to bring hope to the Black community. A myth that convinces us to remain tough. A myth that causes us to ignore the physical, psychological, and physiological impacts of racism. A myth that causes us to absolve white individuals of the harm caused by bias and systemic oppression. A myth that white individuals can hide behind, to avoid feelings of discomfort or the need to accept accountability.
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This is not a competition. This is not “oppression olympics.” There is no gold medal for whose lived experience is more deadly, or who is more stereotyped, in this country. Uplifting Black voices during the month of February is critically important… and it does not have to come at the expense of denouncing yet another episode of racist targeting of Asian Americans.
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Black History Month is upon us …and think of the history that has unfolded in the last year alone! Many days in 2020 felt hard or impossible. Yet, the Black community turned to doing what we do best: coming together, whether it be to fight, to stand, to educate, or to heal. This BHM will be pivotal for generations to come …that is, as long as we choose the movement over the moment. This requires we enter BHM 2021 not only taking notes but also taking action. This month we are not starting the conversation or entertaining ignorance — we are holding our institutions and peers accountable.
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This is the beginning of Women’s History Month, and there will be a lot of media coverage especially because 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. It is also an opportunity to pay homage and give credit to Black women whose contributions to the suffrage movement have often been overlooked or minimized. And it is an opportunity to point out that Black women may still not find it as easy as white women to exercise this right.
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For any company that claims to be intentional on the matter of equity, there is an uncomfortable truth all white-majority organizations must accept: white welfare is not only alive, but the main factor that drives the performance, pay and retention gaps between white and non-white talent. Creating equitable environments today will require a disruption of the exclusive social networks that continue to exist within industries and institutions.
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Recently, as I’ve followed various news stories featured during Black History Month, I have felt like I’m living these lines from Charles Dickens’ book “A Tale of Two Cities.” I was first dismayed, then outraged, when I read about Barnes and Noble’s “Diverse Editions” project. The intent vs. impact of the project is a classic example of seemingly good intentions having a negative and caustic impact.
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This year marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, and the sesquicentennial of the 15th Amendment, giving Black men the ballot. It is fitting then that this year’s theme for Black History Month is African Americans and the Vote. However, those rights existed on paper only. The Jim Crow era brought a wave of statutes specifically designed to disenfranchise Black voters. Today, states are still adapting old tactics to effectively silence the voices of millions of Black men and women.
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