Black History Month is not only a time of celebration but a period wherein we acknowledge the people most fundamental to the essence of our country, and a time where we reflect on how far we’ve yet to go. If it is widely accepted that artists are the purveyors of culture, then the Black artists in our communities have been elemental in setting the course of our shared collective.

Throughout the history of the African Diaspora, creatives have been purged from and intentionally buried by the canon of recorded memory. An ironic reality is Black art and culture are core to the bedrock of American society, and yet the collective experience is one of constant othering and repression. The importance of Black artists, who have started, informed, and cultivated some of the most significant shifts in our culture, not only in America but worldwide, has been grossly overlooked.

Black History Month exists far outside the celebration of just Black Americans. It dreams of a holistic, collective respect and love of Black culture in and out of the United States. It honors black innovation, art, expression and tradition globally.