Black is Beautiful
“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”
In case your history teachers omitted this fact, the celebration of Black History was established in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson - an author, educator, historian, and founder. Initially, there was just one week set aside in February called “Negro History Week,” which was inspired by Dr. Woodson’s brief stint as a professor of history and dean of liberal arts at Howard University, where he incorporated courses on “Negro life and history.” Dr. Woodson intended the celebration for Black students, teachers, institutions and organizations to display what they had learned during the previous year’s study. Fast forward to 1976, the month of February was set aside in America to commemorate prominent individuals and events in the history of the African diaspora, commonly called Black History Month. Until 2016 there were only two other countries in the world that had set aside a month to celebrate the accomplishments of Black people – Canada (also celebrated in February) and the United Kingdom (celebrated in October). Then in 2016, the Netherlands reserved the month of October as their ‘Black Achievement Month.’ I wouldn’t expect that these other countries celebrate the same Black legends that the generally-limited American version of Black history tends to always highlight; instead, they celebrate Black game-changers native to their country, as they should.
I share the sentiments of Dr. Woodson in hoping that the time will come “when all Americans would willingly recognize the contributions of Black Americans as a legitimate and integral part of the history of this country.” On the other hand, whether we are given the proper recognition or not and whether we are celebrated or not, we have become proficient in celebrating and uplifting ourselves; I love that! Being born and being black, automatically qualifies us as a part of black history. Love for ourselves and our blackness has manifested in the coining of hashtags on social media like #BlackGirlMagic, #BlackBoyJoy, #blacklove, and #blackexcellence to name a few. It presents in the way we highlight the beauty, diversity, and significance of melanin in our skin. It is so inspiring and refreshing to see so many positive images of black people today, men and women. It is inspiring to see black men and women still becoming the first to ever do something. It is inspiring to achieve what we are achieving. It is inspiring to see us breaking barriers. And I won’t even begin to name names of awe-inspiring black people who are breaking down these barriers because they are countless. Excuse my bias, but black people are the most creative, innovative, strong, relentless, witty, and talented people on the planet. I am proud that as black people, we have not limited our greatness to only being highlighted during one month each year; black history is being made daily.
Black history is so rich beyond the repetitive few facts that are highlighted in our grade school history classes. By now, we all know that though. So, during this month of February in observance of Black History, I want to encourage you to research some other notable African American or Black contributors to American life. There are far too many hidden figures that contributed to the birth of our nation and in society as we know it now. May we recognize and appreciate the efforts and contributions of ALL those who came before us. Lastly, in honor of those who came before us, let’s continue to build each other up as opposed to tearing each other down. Look for ways to help your fellow brother or sister. Be a light and be the change you want to see.
“Black is beautiful, black is bold. Black is black, true, but black is gold. ”
