Every time this month transpires I hear a minimal amount of negativity from numerous African Americans about this month being referred to as what they would call a “pity gift”. That it is not a shock that the month we are celebrated happens to be the shortest of the year. In reality, it actually began as Negro History WEEK, which started in 1926, thanks to Carter G. Woodson. The assistance of the NAACP finally granted us the honor of changing it to the entire month of February in 1976.
He chose the month of February purposely to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. Receiving a month focused solely on the achievements of African Americans was not an easy achievement. We are actually the only race to have an entire month of recognition. For anyone to feel it is anything short of amazing would certainly be making an understatement. This month should never be a time of negativity nor feeling shorted. It is a month and time of indescribable pride and participation.
Nobody should ever put in to our minds that our achievements and the spirit of our people could ever be confined to only the one month of February. All that we are and all we have done would not be able to be confined to even just a century. So in the spirit of Black history and the African American race, we can always wish each other pride and happiness the entire year and every day of our lives that we sprinkle more magic and possibilities amongst the world. Just change the world around you and strive to be GREATER!
I wrote this blog for Black History Month last year also and I am now proud to say that I am striving everyday to be apart of the history and the achievements of my people. I finally launched my non-profit and now have 4 books in line to be published while still working towards producing even more. The only person ever standing in our way is ourselves. So I pray this month becomes motivational for many more than anything. Motivation to believe anything is possible and motivation to achieve GREATNESS!!
Until next time…
“Changing Our Momentum One Crown At A Time!
