28 days of February has gone by and Black History Month is over. What does that mean exactly?
It is important for certain days or timeframes being dedicated to the cause of awareness. There are many of them, too many to list in fact. Black History, Mental Health, HIV, 2SLGBTQ+…. there is definitely a need here and I am happy that they all exist.
It almost seems like just last week I was ushering in 2021, time can go by quickly and we can miss things if not paying proper attention. So dates and moments to remind us… it helps. But 28 days of February going by really just means that March is here and we have turned the calendar page to maybe a new picture and a bunch of new dates.
Black History Month, like all of those other awareness campaigns, is about recognizing the past, living in the present and looking forward to the future. It’s about awareness and understanding, celebrating achievement, people and life. And those things, they carry on throughout the year, everyday, from January 1st to December 31st and then it begins again.
I have had the pleasure of listening to and seeing some great presentations and podcasts this month, and this has brought the awareness piece of education. Like learning about Africville, a small community of predominantly Black Canadians located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Developed on the southern shore of Bedford Basin in the early 1800s to the 1960s.
Hearing about ‘Self Made’, a story of an African American woman who rises from poverty to building a beauty empire. It is a series on Netflix that I began watching last night.
So Black History Month may be over, but Black History along with the awareness and everything else, goes on. Visit https://www.blacbiblio.com/ to learn more.
Like I said, I learned some things that have come over the past 28 days. But I’ve also been learning over the course of my lifetime and there is no plan to stop. Past, present, future. It is all important, because it is all life.
By Mark Koning
Mark is the Manager of Communications & Operations with CAYR COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS. Mark is also an Author and Blogger of Challenging Barriers and The BIST Blog. (Brain Injury Society of Toronto)