While this may come off as a strong statement hear me out. “I am perfectly beautiful searching for truth through my own path, telling my own story.” This is what black history month means to me. We are made by history and it is up to us to continue it. Do you feel limited in what it means to celebrate black history? Does it always feel like we are given the same limitations culturally in how to embrace this month?
There is no one black experience. Black is all colors, shades, experiences and walks of life. Embrace it.
It is time to reach beyond and make black beautiful and memorable to us individually. I am celebrating Black History Month by working on me. There is no better way to help share Martin Luther King’s dream then to start with yourself so you can share the message with others. For me that means taking the time to be healthy mind, body and soul. Now what does being healthy mind, body and soul have to do with Black History Month? It is no secret that the black community is susceptible to heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure just to name a few. It is no secret that the education disparities within the black community are still present. And a refreshed soul is such a deep relationship you must have with self.
What am I doing different? Boxing, Yoga, Cycling– bettering myself as a leader and mentor and being comfortable and happy in my own skin.
Needless to say, when my mentee Shannon asked me who am I? I told her I am a young black evolving woman who has finally found herself and knows what she has been called in life to do. It is a powerful thing to have people looking up to you.
While we have great examples to look up to such as:
- Michelle Obama, a woman with the most striking beauty and passion to impact and help others;
- Whitney Houston, RIP, a woman who touched the lives of millions of people with her voice and grace, or
- A man like Enitan Bereola, who is continuing to share knowledge with the world and through his messages fulfilling the canvas of a strong black gentleman.
I can never go without mentioning the important figures in my life like who I look up to that contribute to Black History. We cannot forget the everyday people because they matter too. There are the Tasha Brown’s and Janan Wyatt’s who are in clinical psychology PhD programs. I consider them my big sisters. There is my Big Tiffany Bender who has become my all around life guru through the lens of business, fashion, fitness and men. But it’s the women who have my heart, my mother and grandmother who touch me the most with their strength.
I hope this inspires you to do something different, look at Black History in Paris, taking a cycling class, talk to your family about how black history has impacted their life and start to make yourself a part of the movement.
Most importantly have fun, celebrate life, we only get one, make it count.