A friend of mine is spearheading her company’s first ever Black History Month celebration. *Sigh* I know, I know. I too wondered how 2022 could be any company’s first, but as they say, better late than never. 

Given the sensitivity often surrounding the topic, she’d gotten in touch to ask for my thoughts on how it would best be broached. Regardless of whether it is an establishment’s first or tenth year acknowledging it, it’s a challenge that I imagine many will be facing this month, especially if they’re still in their early days.

I explained that before the occasion can be properly celebrated, one must first understand what it is that they are actually meant to be celebrating.

“What it Black History Month about?” We pondered out loud. A question I began to answer by first explaining what I believe it is not. 

Firstly, it’s not a one-off celebration. I’ve spoken before about how tokenistic I think this time of year can be. Often groups and individuals believe it is enough to fight for and believe in diversity only when a social justice occasion calls for it, but it’s not. When your acknowledgement of Black history is limited to one month a year, I see it less as a rallying ally cry and more like a stunt to save face. 

Secondly, it’s not just Black history, but all our shared histories. It’s our intertwined stories that have given way to our ever-entangled present day and futures. The longer it takes for us to acknowledge that, the longer it will take for us to enact greater change.

And thirdly, it’s not just limited to teaching people about the transatlantic slave trade. Many, in their misguided attempt to be woke, believe that it is enough to simply educate society about slavery, as if that is all that Blackness came from, when in fact, there is so much more to it than that. 

“Black History Month is not all about slavery”, I began, “nor the pain and struggle of Blackness, but the celebration of it too.” It’s about the forgotten contribution of our ancestors’ tireless hands and brilliant minds, our poetic mother tongues and war cry lungs. It’s about our fearless uprising and determination to keep thriving despite the residual colonial scars that continue to pass down from generation to generation.

It’s not enough to learn about the loss of our freedom. We need to understand who we were before: tribal chiefs and kings, matriarchs and rulers, drenched in gold and embellished in diamonds. We are decedents from the first tribes, the Maasai and the Zulu, and the now keepers of cultures and Bantu languages that the history books neglected to praise. 

This month is not all about slavery, but least we forget about those who enslaved, who raped our women and stole our children. The ones who turned on their own and sold their soul trading their own people and who generations later continue to do so through corruption and dictatorships.

This month is about acknowledgment. It’s about healing and uplifting a community by writing our stories back into a history that colonialism once tried to erase. Above all, I believe that it could be about unity – something that society will continue to struggle to reach for as long as we shy away from the uncomfortable conversations that this month can bring to the forefront. 

Black History Month. ‘Don’t water it down’, was my ultimate advice. If it makes those around you uncomfortable, challenge them to sit in that discomfort and ask themselves why it is they feel that way.

Societally, we might be better than where we were in previous times, but there is still so much further for us to go and by making the most out of moments like this, there’s a greater chance we’ll get there. Little by little, one history month at a time.

And on that note *Sips Tea*

More on Race & Nationality

Subscribe to the newsletter