I remember being so confused about why we celebrated Black History Month when I was younger. Of course, I still enjoyed it; my schoolâs history lessons would delve into the accomplishments and excellence of important figures who looked like me for once. The conversations of black resilience and determination in the forms of sports, entertainment, culture, and political activism made me feel represented, powerful, motivated, and understood. But I could not understand why these discussions were so limited, confined to a single month. Especially in comparison to years of extensive discussions in various US history classes, I began to notice later in grade school how, although Black History Month was representative, it was also very restricted and specifically curated.
This year, 2026, marks the 100th year anniversary of Black History Month. The event began as Negro History Week in 1926, surrounding the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass in February, and was expanded to encompass the entire month in 1976. Each year, Black History Month has been a symbol of power and appreciation for African Americans, celebrating culture and history in a country that has often silenced their efforts. As the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Black History Month has also served as a reminder of the trials and tribulations that African Americans have endured not only for their own advancement, but also in extending their support to many other marginalized groups working to make their way in this country.
In the highly militant, tumultuous times we are experiencing in America right now, the dynamic between socioeconomic inequality and government power is re-entering mainstream conversation, often defined as ânew problems.â However, many issues weâre encountering today are a reflection of generations of systematic oppression predominantly targeted at disadvantaged and marginalized communities. For years, protests in various forms have been largely ignored due to the subjugation of specific demographics; however, the greater variety of Americans affected today has significantly increased prominent media attention. Every year, Black History Month has grown to mean more and more to me, however I feel conflicting emotions about how to celebrate Black culture and influence in America at a time when the US government is targeting various ethnic groups with increasingly severe racial profiling, persecution, and deportation.Â
Performance in the Place of Progress
As I got older, Black History Month began to appear incredibly convenient, specifically in the ways corporations and institutions have used its significance to further their social and/or underlying political agendas. What was once a communal celebration of Black contributions and achievements in society, despite segregation and racial oppression, has gradually transformed from the outside into a marketing strategy as a brand that can prove âpolitical correctness.â In many ways, Black History Month has been used against Black people in America, promoted by claims that âracism is overâ and itâs actually a privilege to have a separate history month. Itâs become something to prove that America is equal and supportive of Black Americans, when Black History Month was a concept that Black Americans created for themselves in a country that refused to accept them as equals.
Freedom, Inequality, & Perception
Recently, Iâve been reading Assata: An Autobiography, Assata Shakurâs own account of her early life struggling against racism and segregation that led to her becoming a civil rights activist in the Black Panther Party. Shakur, like so many other Black people in America, were dehumanized, brutalized, tortured, and denied proper health and legal access for the sole crime of existing while Black. I think itâs so crucial that more people understand that the civil rights leaders we idolize now were once the covers of âAmericaâs Most Wantedâ posters, and how these protests for racial equality and justice were demonized by the American government. The downfall of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s and 1970s was largely attributed to the strategic targeting of civil rights activists by the FBI, CIA, and other federal organizations. Perception is vital as we analyze the Black activists who were labelled as âcriminalsâ and âterroristsâ by the government in response to their civil unrest, all for wanting fair treatment within the same systems that continued to subjugate them.Â
However, in this same era, America experienced the expansion of entertainment media, with increased access in homes across the country, and the rise of Black representation in film, music, talk/game shows, and more. As marginalized groups in America gradually gained more human rights through larger socio-political shifts such as desegregation, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act, we entered an incredibly complex space where racial inequality became easier to hide as governmental institutions redirected media attention and influenced popular narratives. Additionally, I feel like individual Black success and stardom in the past couple of decades has been used to both evaluate the extent of racism in America and determine that racism was a separate entity in our past. Extremely prominent and wealthy black figures such as BeyoncĂ©, LeBron James, and Oprah Winfrey come to mind, along with hundreds of other Black celebrities who have influenced American culture and society across multiple industries. Iâve heard some claims that there is no racism in America because of these examples of wealthy and successful Black people, rather than acknowledging the added racial, gender, and socioeconomic barriers that the Black elite have always had to push through to obtain their status. Even more so, this does not negate the American institutions created and thriving that have worked to isolate, exclude, and discriminate against Black people, and keep them locked in a system of second-class citizenship.
The âRight Wayâ to Protest
I remember the idea of the âright wayâ to protest coming up a lot during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, and how it was weaponized to critique protesters for any âdisruptiveâ actions in the movement, without analyzing the reasons why people across the country were coming together for this cause. Ethnic groups in America, by law, have equal rights to white Americans, however state-sanctioned practices such racial profiling, mass incarceration, and police brutality have conveniently been exploited to target non-white groups for generations. Additionally, as these federal acts were just starting to level the playing field for marginalized groups in America in the decades after the Civil Rights Movement, Americans began to attack these long standing policies for âgiving Black people the upper hand.â Many policymakers have found loopholes that undercut opportunities for true economic equality, through legislative actions such as the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) ruling in Alabama, which essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and has enabled increased voter discrimination, and the overturning of Affirmative Action, that has weakened opportunities for Black people, white women, and many other marginalized groups.
In the past couple years, many counter attacks against protest have stemmed from severe lack of understanding and experience. Many people are confused about why BIPOC communities continue to protest, continue to talk about racism and inequality, and continue to demand institutional changes. Without historical understanding and current experience, I think it can be incredibly easy to fall into blissful ignorance about ongoing systemic oppression when weâre seeing surface-level equality and representation like Black History Month, wealthy celebrities that are BIPOC, and cultural celebrations on international stages. I will not discount these accomplishments, because I do feel like every form of ethnic inclusion, representation, and empowerment in a society is a win. These are so incredibly important, especially when public figures have the platform to speak out against inequality, racial profiling, illegal deportation, and discriminatory policies. At the same time, many nationally recognized celebrations such as the History months for Black Americans, Women, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are accepted as palatable forms of ethnic recognition, as opposed to any movements for racial and economic equality that consistently receive pushback. Overall, I think itâs worth noting why intentional forms of cultural acknowledgement are allowed, meanwhile centuries of struggles against racialized institutional dehumanization and subjugation are portrayed as violent, arbitrary, and more specifically, harmful to white America.