Black History Month

Did you know? Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements made by African Americans and is a time for recognizing their central role in US history. Since 1976, February has been designated as Black History Month where a specific theme is endorsed. The 2021 theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity” explores the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States. Black History Month tackles the global crisis of racism which is prejudice directed against a person or people based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

One of the key examples is the Black Lives Matter movement that has occurred only a few months ago, after the brutal death of an American hip-hop artist, George Floyd. Many people began to arise from their hiding through social media and multiple protests. It is estimated that about 15 to 26 million people in the United States have participated in demonstrations over the death of George Floyd.

Many historical figures are remembered until today due to black history month. This includes figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., African American Baptist minister and activist, Rosa Parks, most famous for the Montgomery bus boycott, Frederick Douglass, an American abolitionist who escaped from the suffering as a slave, and Maya Angelou, American poet.