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As we celebrate Black History Month I learn several new bits of information about people and events old and new, such as Moroccan explorer Estevanico (“Estebanico the Black”) who, in the 1500s as a Spanish slave, discovered what is now known as Tampa Bay, my birthplace. Another is Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) best known as The Personal Librarian of American financier, JP Morgan, for which the non-fiction book of her life is titled.
There are many people for me to learn about and countless Blacks who make the world a better place every day, yet go unnoticed.
Despite the pangs of injustice, inequity, and sheer evils that Blacks have endured for generations, the struggle continues. Racism is real. Yet, the power of hope is strong. When we use our voices through the vote, in the courtroom and classroom, at PTA meetings, sports and entertainment arenas, and the like, we are stronger. The significance of our contributions are felt in science, technology, the armed forces, tech, politics, entertainment, and the arts along with our blood is intertwined within the fabric of the American flag.
I believe the passage in Maya Angelou’s poem The Human Family, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” If more people believed it, the world would live in harmony and be a much better place.
Bomb threats against HBCUs, racial epithets against the First Black U.S. Supreme Justice nominee, US Senate’s refusal to make voting rights for all citizens fair and accessible, the killing of unarmed Blacks by law enforcement, the attempt to sanitize the educational teachings of Black American history under a narrative of Critical Race Theory, economic and living inequities are constant re-awakening of the strife many contend with daily, the fight continues. As Langston Hugh’s Mother to Son says, “Life for me (us) ain’t been no crystal stair…for I’se (we) still goin’, honey, I’se (we) still climbin’…” hope springs eternal.
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