Hey loves.  I hope you’re having an amazing day.  As you all may know February is the month that we celebrate Black History in America. I wanted to share with you all my reasons for celebrating black history, and why it’s more than just a month to me.  I attended an elementary school where most of the students were predominantly black. We learned about black history pretty often and even had black history programs. When I moved neighborhoods and transferred to a predominately white middle and high school, black history wasn’t really taught (the closest thing we had to black history was watching the movie ‘ROOTS’ for an entire year in ninth grade).  Everyday I attended middle and high school with most of my peers who did not look like me, nor could relate to me, which was challenging at times.  I would often get made fun of for the way that I looked. How different my hair was, and how I dressed. It was such a struggle being one of the only black kids in school, but I remember my Mom constantly reading me stories about all of these great African Americans in history; reminding me of who I was and where I came from.

My Mom would read poems to my sister and me by authors like Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes (my favorite to this day is ‘A Dream Deferred’). I wanted to be an astronaut growing up, and my Mother would share stories about Mae Jemison and her accomplishments with NASA. My Mom would constantly share with me that although there weren’t many students who looked and related to me at school, there were many in history that have paved the way for me, and shared some of my interests. I really loved reading about the contributions that African Americans made in history. I appreciated learning from my mother, my church, and other organizations outside of school, because it helped me to development a sense of pride for being black.

            You mean to tell me that I shared the same roots as women like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou, Madame C.J. Walker, Phyllis Wheatley, Mary McCloud-Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, Rosa Parks, Nina Simone, and Zora Neale Hurston (to name a few)? You mean to tell me that my ancestors such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, W. E. B Dubois, and James Baldwin have made tremendous contributions to America and are still very relevant today? Why would I not celebrate Black History? To me, Black History is more than just a celebration for a month. It’s a celebration for life. I am proud to be a black woman, knowing that I come from men and women who’ve managed to rise above their trials and tribulations. I’m proud to come from a line of men and women who used their intellects and creativity to start movements like the Harlem Renaissance.

            I celebrate being an African American, because every single day we are breaking barriers and making history.  Black History is a celebration and time to focus on the future, but not forget about the past. It’s a time to acknowledge the many contributions that have been made in America by African Americans. I celebrate it, because I think of my mother who constantly reminded me of who I was, and the greatness that came before me. I celebrate black history and share it to inspire young black girls, like myself to be proud of who they are, even if they look and speak differently than their peers. I celebrate black history, because to me it is American History.

Xo, Ikea Alexis

SOME OF MY FAVORITE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN HISTORY: