Your OPINION Matters: How important is Black History Month for you?

INTERSECTIONS reached out to members of the community to gather responses about Black History Month. Here are some of their responses:

     
Classics major and study abroad student Aidan Largey (’21) who keeps updated with campus events via social media, notes the importance of elevating Black Americans and their achievements in order to counteract their experiences of marginalization and exclusion.  Aidan, who is currently in Scotland cites the role of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin as pivotal in organizing the March on Washington Movement.  

      On the other hand, senior biology major Vidya Madineedi (’20) expressed appreciation for the mode of nonviolence promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who pressed for an end to segregation and racism.  Vidya, who represents Developing & Educating South Asian Ideologies (DESI), notes the importance of understanding the many injustices Black Americans continue to face. 

      For first year student Sarah Cooper (’23), the month of February allows us to celebrate all the achievements of those who had sacrificed so much for the lives of others.  Sarah expressed her admiration for Michelle Obama for the former first lady’s image of courage and strength and for the work of expanding educational privileges for girls around the world. The first black First Lady of the United States, Sarah notes, has shown that through hard work, anything is achievable.

      For the MPE-Black History Month social media campaign, Psychology major on pre-Med track Tori Iassogna (’22), volunteered to research on the biographies of Black Americans. Tori expressed how she was drawn to the idea of learning more about influential persons in history who can tend to be forgotten because of their minority backgrounds.  After reading through different biographies of black Americans, Tori expressed surprise as to how the valuable contributions of the Black community are often out of people’s radar.  She singles out the important work of physician, engineer and astronaut Mae Jamison which for her, required years and years of intense learning and training.  “Before this campaign, I did not even know her name!” Tori stressed. 

      Residence Life and Housing Administrative Assistant Raquel Lynn Whidbee for her part believes that appreciating the contributions of Black Americans who helped build the nation must be a year-long thing.  We can do more, she said, in deepening our learnings about events like the Tulsa Black Wall Street Massacre and the bravery of Black women like World War II civil rights activist Josephine Baker.   

      Black History Month has been celebrated officially every year since 1976 with the initial endorsement of former president Gerard Ford who exhorted all Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”