This is Not Your Typical Black History Month Essay

For Black History Month this year, I had planned to write a poem or lyric essay. I juggled around the common themes of survival, achievement, oppression, and creativity. While I do believe it is important to know our history, and to know of these things, I often wonder how much we recycle certain stories, or even what new stories could and should be told.

The reality is, while Black history is beautiful, it is also painful and rooted in trauma. Many of these traumas still require healing for ourselves, and the community. This is where I began to think, “what else?” I could write a typical BHM essay, rooted in historical oppression, but right now I want to think of an alternative narrative. Black History, though often confined to dates on the calendar, is much more than 28 days.

I came across the idea of Black Futures Month (BFM) from several members of the staff here at Afros In Tha City. Inside BFM I found amazing ideas under the scope of Afro-futurism, as not only Black science fiction, but also real tangible better economic possibilities. I then asked myself what role I can play in this as a writer.

When thinking of telling Black stories, it is important we ask ourselves the key questions. “Why am I telling this story?” and “Who is this story really for now that it has been fleshed out?” are two great…