02/28/2026
Black History Month is almost over, and I have not been anywhere near as vocal as I wished to be this year. While a single post is insufficient, choosing to speak up is still important.
Someone dear to me recently reminded me that speaking up for one another is an integral part of honoring each other. So here I stand (post) to say...
🖤 Black history does not end with Black history month.
🖤 Black history is not separate from the rest of history, even though it is often separated - hidden, dismissed, muted - from the rest of history.
🖤 Black voices need to be amplied, as do the voices of other marginalized, muted, and ignored populations. This is just one way to counteract the emphasis of white perceptions of history as the only valid or true perceptions of history.
🖤 Ensuring that equitable representation is present in shaping opportunities improves access for those who are overlooked.
🖤 All individuals deserve equitable treatment, access, and opportunity.
🖤 All individuals have the right to be included and to feel that they belong.
🖤 All human beings have inherent worth.
This post isn't a sweeping answer that simplifies and fixes everything with a few sentences, any more than a single month of celebration and remembrance fixes the wrongs that are committed across history all year round.
It is, however, a statement of what I believe. Being willing to stand (post) and state those beliefs is one of the ways I honor my friends, my colleagues, and my loved ones.
I hope that this Black History Month has been a month of celebration, remembrance, and learning opportunities. And I hope that the learning continues beyond the temporal edges of the calendar month.
