The team at MovementForward, Inc. would like to invite you to take time to recognize those who were trailblazers within the Black Community throughout our history, recognizing them not only through this month but throughout the year.

This tradition of acknowledging the overwhelming number of contributions to this country, by Black Americans, began in the early 1920s and expanded into a month long time of reflection in the mid-1970s. The theme for Black History Month 2021 is “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity”. This theme explores the heritage of Black families across the United States. 

The word “family” speaks to the soul of all human relationships. Family represents many types of connections, whether connections through blood relatives within our nuclear families; connections within our faith communities with those we call “brother” and “sister”; or connections formed within our cultures tying us to countries from where we descended. The celebrations of the Black family, through this year’s Black History Month theme, recognizes the Black family consists of a large swath of diverse identities. 

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of that tapestry are equal in value no matter their color. – Maya Angelou

Editorial Disclaimer: All blog posts are contributed by a member of the MovementForward, Inc. team in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in the posts are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of MovementForward, Inc. or any other partnership associated with the organization.