Tamara Powell

We had another Black History Month series from Tamara Powell in February and The Reporter would like to publicly say thank you to Tamara for providing our readers with an always-popular series by continuing in her grandmother’s footsteps.

This year’s theme was “The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” and Tamara gave us some Rockdale family history to be celebrated.

Why do we celebrate Black History? Black History Month is an opportunity to understand Black histories, going beyond stories of racism and slavery to spotlight Black achievement. And Tamara’s stories helped to spotlight that achievement.

Carter G. Woodson is known as the Father of Black History. He first established Negro History Month in February of 1926. February was chosen as the month because of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the civil-rights movement and a growing awareness of Black identity, Negro History Week was celebrated by mayors in cities across the country. Eventually, the event evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History month. In his speech, President Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history”.

Since his administration, every American president has recognized Black History Month and its mission. But it wasn’t until Congress passed “National Black History Month” into law in 1986 that many in the country began to observe it formally. The law aimed to make all Americans “aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity”.

Now, it’s seen as a celebration of those who’ve impacted not just the country but the world with their activism and achievements. In the US, the month-long spotlight during February is an opportunity for people to engage with Black histories, go beyond discussions of racism and slavery, and highlight Black leaders and accomplishments.

For many modern young Black people, the monthlong celebration offers an opportunity to reimagine what possibilities lie ahead. But for many, the forces that drove Woodson nearly a century ago are more relevant than ever.

As Lonnie G. Bunch III, Director of the Smithsonian Institution said at the opening of the Washington D.C.’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016: “There is no more powerful force than a people steeped in their history. And there is no higher cause than honoring our struggle and ancestors by remembering.”

Thank you again, Tamara, for sharing your stories about Rockdale families with our readers.—K.W.C.