Black History Month is 365 Days Long!
"Hurry up! We only have a few more weeks to care about Black stuff!!" This feels like the anthem during February every year. I am sure this is not what Dr. Carter G. Woodson envisioned when he established Negro History Week in 1926, now known as Black History Month.
The year is 365 days long. Even if we were to talk about one (1) brilliant Black person every hour of every day, we would not come close to exhausting the reserve. Black people, African-Americans, and people of African ancestry have tremendous heritage, courage, grace and fortitude. While we are underrecognized in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, [Arts], and Math (S.T.E.M. / S.T.E.A.M.), we contribute our creativity and innovation in breakthroughs across all areas of society.
My response to the push and demand to squeeze Black joy into one month is to PUSH BACK! No, we will not acknowledge our accomplishments, our brilliance, or our history within a 28-day timespan. No we will not hurry up and jump through hoops for corporations or educational institutions who have "Black Lives Matter" on a bumper sticker while they speed through February and on to their next theme. Finally, no, we don't care about your schedule. We will not be contained.
Our Black History Proclamation:
- We live by the Kwanzaa principle, imani (faith), and believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle;
- We work to see ourselves acknowledged, reflected, and reconciled in societal records and history books;
- We celebrate our poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history; and
- We learn our history, honor our ancestors, and tell our children about their brilliance.
*A very special thank you to "the Father of Black History", Dr. Carter G. Woodson, for his tremendous achievements and the pathway he created!