In the month of February, we will celebrate Black History Month with our focus on awareness. We will be emphasizing the qualities that exist within Black Culture and spread positive messages to help bring awareness and pride for our Galloway community which includes many members from the Afrocentric background.

Since 2019, our Club decided to break down the word BLACK as an acronym:

(B)e Boundless

(L)eadership

(A)wareness

(C) coming 2022

(K) coming 2023

Black awareness helps us foster the importance of the ongoing work that is needed to ensure that African people in every society are afforded equal rights, opportunities, and are treated with respect and dignity. Our theme around Black awareness is also focused on the importance of strengthening allies in the Black community. The understanding that Black history is one that needs to be celebrated year-round is important to consider and implement in our day to day lives.

We asked some of our staff what the statement “I am black yesterday, today, and tomorrow” means to them. Their responses were:

- Life

- Pride

- Freedom

- Strength through Knowledge

As we continue to explore our need to emphasize black culture in Black History Month, we wanted to share the idea that BHM began as “Negro History Week” and throughout the years, many public figures allowed the celebrations to extend across the whole month. Michelle, our Volunteer Coordinator, and BHM Lead said,

“Every day we are in contact with the tangible evidence of the major contributions that Black leaders have made around the world. When we ride an elevator, stop at a stoplight, use an ironing board, brush our hair, and engage in so many of our everyday activities, we should remember and be proud of the fact that it was black people that invented these everyday items and so much more. Throughout this month, we can focus on the roots that we will transpire throughout the years.”

As we usually host a major celebration at the end of the month, this year will look a bit different as all activities will be done online. Participants in our programs can expect to learn about the historical passage and past of enslaved persons and their plight throughout the over 400 years of slavery in America. Through engaging video content, participants will learn about the Continent of Africa, its people, traditions, and culture, and through the art of poetry and dance, will be able to connect with the feelings and emotions of a history that has been wrought with pain, but also with courage, and hopefulness for the things yet to come.

We want to encourage our future black leaders to be proud of the strength that exists within their history and to be aware of the roots that they come from. Through our online learning and the implementation of cultural teachings throughout the month, we can explore the multilayered stories that exist throughout the diaspora to bring awareness to the forefront.