Happy Black History Month! February is a great time to check in on your privileges and celebrate Black people throughout history. You want to celebrate while checking in on what makes you able to only think about Black history one month out of the year.
- Set a plan to learn about Black history throughout the year.
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It is so great to have a whole month to focus and dive deep into Black history, but with so much information available, you’ll learn much more if you read about Black history throughout the year, connecting with dates of specific occurrences. By doing this, the learning of Black history becomes less performative. If you’re only reading about Black history because February reminded you, you have some privileges to address that allow you to only think about Black history when prompted to. If you’re unsure of where to start, here are some starting resources:
If you want to begin learning about Black history, this website is a great jumping-off point for doing additional research.
https://www.history.com/tag/black-history
If you’re wondering about why some people choose to capitalize the ‘B’ in Black, this is a great resource.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insider/capitalized-black.html
If you want to learn more about predominant Black people, this article lists many that you might not know yet.
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/02/us/little-known-black-history-figures/
If you prefer video formats, this is a lighter video highlighting Black inventors and how life would be different without those people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Z-IBZr_L4
- Think of what privileges you have.
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To learn about Black history, you’re going to come across Black women, Black queer people, Black autistic people, and many others. To help yourself understand on a deeper level, write down a list of all of the privileges you have. You can include class, race, sexuality, gender, ability level, and financial independence, along with many others. You will likely be privileged in some areas, and unprivileged in others. Think about the intersection of all of your factors. Perhaps you are white, so you have no issues fitting in here at Boulder, but you’re also a woman, so you have to work harder to prove yourself in predominantly male classes. These intersections of privilege will help you understand what historical Black figures had going against them.
- Think of Boulder and how we fit into this.
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When you think of Boulder, what comes to mind? Perhaps college students, partying, wealthy students, and liberal views. What is most notable when you look around campus is the majority of white students and faculty. Boulder would be classified as a predominantly white institution or a PWI. PWIs are classified as an institution with 50% or more of the student body being white. According to college factual, CU Boulder has 68% white students. If you’re a white person reading this, imagine if you went to school and over two-thirds of your classmates didn’t look anything like you and might have predisposed ideas about who you are before even meeting you.
CU administration has racism problems, as seen when the administration did not take suggestions from Black students or the Black Student Alliance. In 2019, the administration only discussed policy changes after a Black student was harassed and called racial slurs, according to Inside Higher ED.
This point goes along with privilege. If you have never noticed the racial makeup of your classmates or felt unsure if someone would like you based on an uncontrollable factor, you’ve may have been attributing to the microaggressions many Black students face on campus.
- Donate time or money.
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After educating yourself and committing to continuing to learn about Black history, the next best thing to do is to donate time or money. It is so easy to find GoFundMe’s for various Black artists, mothers, teachers, and people in medical need. Search the GoFundMe website and find someone you connect with. Direct donations such as GoFundMes or Venmo help Black people in need more directly and quickly than an organizational donation. Additionally, individuals will always know their wants and needs better than an organization, which will help them the most. If you can’t afford to donate money, you can also donate your time or resources. Maybe you’re good at painting or embroidering. You could make and sell your items and donate the profits to Black people. You could gather information and share it with others to further the learning process for everybody. Additionally, you could volunteer through an organization and volunteer your time.
In conclusion, doing something to celebrate Black History Month is great, but we should all try to extend the research and appreciation beyond the shortest month of the year.