#BlackHistoryMatters
Greetings Scholars for Black Lives Family!
Happy Black History Month! As we vision and build Black futures, we are deeply committed to the African principle of Sankofa. We know we must embrace and honor the freedom fighters, struggles, and lessons learned from the past as we chart the course forward. Founded initially by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as Negro History Week, which emanated from the existing birthday celebrations of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass by Black communities on February 12th and 14th respectively, a month of remembrance by Black Student Union organizers at Kent State University in 1969 began this now time-honored tradition. Although it was not officially recognize by the U.S. government until 1976, Black History Month has and continues to be an expression of Black autonomy and a claim to our right of self-determination,
Since the birth of Black Lives Matter, as well as the genesis of Scholars for Black Lives, we have always acknowledged that we are but one marker in the long struggle for Black freedom. Our communities of memory, those revolutionary thinkers, organizers, cultural workers, and the everyday people whom walked before us continue to serve as a resource for us to mobilize. This year, we are most excited about deepening our partnership with the Black Lives Matter Global Network and curating daily offerings of Black history as political education by some of the leading Black radical intellectuals of our time.
Daily installments will be posted to the @blklivesmatter and @s4blcollective Instagram pages recounting various historical figures, artifacts, and events within Black freedom tradition. We hope that you will like, comment, and share widely as these brief tellings of Black history provide us the inspiration to struggle forward with renewed vigor and vision. To access our campaign launch graphics for posting, please download our asset folder here.
In solidarity,
Charles H.F. Davis III
Founder and Director, Scholars for Black Lives
and
Melina Abdullah
Co-Director, Black Lives Matter-Grassroots
Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles
#BlackHistoryMatters: A Digital Political Education Campaign
Black History Month and the Sankofa Principle
In conjunction with our #BlackHistoryMatters campaign, Dr. Kim McNair (Stanford University), Dr. Amilcar Shabazz (UMass), and Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III (University of Michigan) join Black Lives Matter Los Angeles’ This Is Not A Drill host Dr. Melina Abdullah (California State Univerrsity, Los Angeles) to discuss the ongoing importance of Black History Month as a political education program and the Sankofa Principle’s enduring relevance as we chart a path toward a free Black future.