Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black perseverance and achievement.
I think about Harriet Tubman, whose devotion to freedom was so remarkable that she risked her own hard-earned freedom to liberate others. But I also think about the brilliance of Duke Ellington, a man so indebted to the segregated Black community that embraced him in his youth. Or, Louis Armstrong whose immense talent took him from learning jazz in the brothels of Storyville in New Orleans to an ambassador of national prominence.
Etched into this ecosystem we nevertheless struggled to piece together the extremely peculiar relationships and understandings so amazingly diverse and beautiful while, at the same time, painful and haunting. I think about my father, who as a kid was not allowed to walk on one side of the street but would also several decades later be appointed magistrate of that same county.
Sometimes we might have programs where we play-acted great people of the past. Though we loved our gospel music, during February the music was different. My mother was the choir director and she would play spirituals such as “Did you Know” and “Rise up Shepherd and Follow.” African-American spirituals connected us to our past. They inspired us while helping us celebrate our unknown heroes.
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