solution sessions: how are you celebrating your blackness this bhm?

I grew up having a love-hate relationship with Black History Month. Every year, my white teachers would single out the Black kids in class and expect us to emote on command when discussing Martin Luther King. We’d talk about the same five historical figures, and when March rolled around, it created a much starker contrast to how white the rest of our curriculum was — except for those 28 days.

Still, it’s a good reminder that we’ve always come from greatness and that should be celebrated year-round.

On this special AFROPUNK Solutions Sessions Black History Month recap episode, Yves Jeffcoat reminded me that it’s important to carve out a space to intentionally celebrate ourselves. Our Blackness, our gains and our beauty.

I’ve also seen folks using Black History Month to shout-out Black folks making change and doing big things right now, in 2019. It’s powerful to use the month to give flowers to our leaders while they’re still alive.

What are your thoughts on Black History Month? How have you used the month to celebrate ourselves?

Listen to previous Solutions Sessions episodes.