Black History Month 2023: Remember and Move Forward in Hope

With the cries of another murdered Black man, ringing in my ears – we say your name Tyre Nichols – I come to Black History Month (BHM) 2023 with some dread and ambiguity. I commemorate this time with a sense of joy as we attempt with determination to celebrate the great achievements of Black people in this country – and I carry in my heart a deep, deep sadness at the continued yearning to place value on the lives and bodies of a people, my people, who have been too often neglected and silenced in the history of this country; this country built on the backs of enslaved Africans and descendants. I am saddened and angry by the many missed opportunities this country has had to embrace freedom and equity for all and yet still falls short of the mark.

And so here we are again, in February, during BHM, celebrating even as we remember, even as we move forward with a desperate hope that change, real change, will come... sometime... eventually.

Participating with the Church Within A Church Movement (CWACM) Black Historical trip to Alabama in 2022, at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, this statement of reconciliation jumped out at me:

For the hanged and beaten.

For the shot, drowned and burned.

For the tortured, tormented, and terrorized.

For those abandoned by the rule of law.

WE WILL REMEMBER.

With Hope because hopelessness is the enemy of justice.

With Courage because peace requires bravery.

With Persistence because justice is a constant struggle.

With Faith because we shall overcome.

This message is paramount in this season of fear and uncertainty. This BHM our ancestors are once again, encouraging us, imploring us, begging us to REMEMBER – that freedom and equity is a human right; one that has been fought for over time eternal. Many have died in the pursuit of equality. It is in the fighting and dying that I find hope, courage, persistence and faith to stay on the justice journey. I hope you will join me this year in celebrating the work that’s been done by accepting the challenge of our ancestors to stay the course and continue the work. (beginning with our own personal work).