Growing up, my family made it a point to drive home certain principles. 1. God is the head of our lives and this home. 2. Black History is to be learned and celebrated everyday. February was not a month that went unnoticed either. Without fail, when Black History Month rolled around, I was responsible for doing a Book Report. I had to pick a person who I wanted to focus on and compile a 1-page summary of their lives, accomplishments and their impact on my life. This was responsible for my love of Black history, Black people and learning about both. 

 

Fast forward to 2018. Sitting in my living room I was perusing the internet and social media and started to think about how many people often mention Black History Month, will host events to “celebrate” Black History Month but do we truly learn anything? We often highlight the same few people: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman. And they should be honored. But in continuing to recognize the same people, we forget about others who may not be as well known. 

 

I was taught that what you don’t see, you create. So "A Night of Black History" was born. I wanted to highlight the vast accomplishments of Black people. Our history did not begin with slavery. Our history did not begin with America. "A Night of Black History" seeks to bring to the forefront the names of our ancestors who we may not know off the top of our heads. 

 

Although this was new and absolutely terrifying to me, I did it…TWICE! I pray that you learn something, that you’ll share it with someone else and that you’ll remember that Black History is to be learned and celebrated everyday!