By Sabyra Thomas (‘22)
In the month of February, Black History Month is celebrated in the US and Canada. Black History Month is celebrated to help people recognize the contributions and achievements of black people. Some of the people who are celebrated during the month of February are Martin Luther King Jr, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more. Black History Month is important to celebrate so that kids can have an understanding about how our world once was.
According to freshman Nia Brown, “Seeing Black History Month celebrated makes me feel proud. Having black history celebrated helps me learn more about the true struggles blacks faced earlier in history.”
A lot of TV networks like to create different things to express the importance of Black History month to not only children but adults as well. For example the TV network WE has a series of slideshows that are broadcast throughout the month of February. The slideshows that WE broadcasted include many different African American greats and their importance to the change that was made in the world.
Similarly, Black Entertainment Television(BET) aires many documentaries/ movies about greats and the purpose of Black History Month. BET also shows many interviews of celebrities talking about African Americans who are an inspiration to the world today.
TV networks aren’t the only ones to celebrate Black History Month National Basketball Association(NBA) teams wear special shirts at their games during February. The shirts that NBA teams wear have words printed on them that represent what blacks fought for with a famous quote from an on the back of the shirt. Some of the words included on the shirts are “unify”, “equal”, “history” and “justice” among others. In addition to NBA teams wearing shirts they also have some of the players give speeches about the importance of recognizing black heroes. Also many NBA players wear sneakers that they have made to express how the world is equal.
There are also many celebrates who post pictures/videos.
¨Seeing my favorite celebrates, and my favorite TV networks post and talk about Black History Month motivates me to get up and make a change in the world today¨ said Brown.
Having celebrities post about Black History Month is important because they have many young fans who look up to them. Celebrities can connect to their young fans on a deeper level and truly acknowledge them about the importance of black greats.
Many schools have moments of silence to pay respect when talking about African American Greats. Also, many schools have different activities to help teach the importance of Black History month. At SBHS, there is a presentation played on the morning announcements on VTN which tells staff members/students important information. The presentations aired during Black History Month shows African American greats and how they are important in life today.
According to Secretary to the principal, Mrs. Raymona Baker, “We make sure to add messages on VTN every morning. Also we put up bulletin boards around the school that have important messages from African-Americans. It is important to keep our students educated on the history of African-Americans so they don't lose touch on the important moments in society.”