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Black History Month is celebrated in the US every February and each year a theme is selected, giving the Month a specific focus.
Loosely started in 1915, Black History Month celebrates the achievements, history, and culture of African Americans. It began when in response to a lack of information on the accomplishments of Black people available to the public, historian Carter G. Woodson co-founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.
In 1926, the group declared the second week of February as African-American History Week to recognize the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. In 1976, the Week was extended to a month-long celebration by President Gerald Ford.
We take a look at the Black History Month theme for 2023.
What is the Black History Month 2023 theme?
The theme for Black History month 2023 will be Black Resistance. The theme explores how “African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms, and police killings.”
In February the resistance of Black people over the years in the fight for self-determination, including through political activism such as the Civil Rights movement, sit-ins, boycotts, walkouts, and strikes, will be honored.
The Association for the Study of African-American Life and History highlights the multitude of ways Black people have organized to fight for justice, from the Haitian Revolution to those who escaped plantations, to the creation of cultural centers such as libraries.
Other forms of resistance
As well as organizing as resistance, the theme also spotlights other ways that African-American people have resisted discrimination.
“Black medical professionals established nursing schools, hospitals, and clinics to provide spaces for Black people to get quality health care, which they often did not receive at mainstream medical institutions.” The same was done in the financial sector and with education.
Music, art, photography, and film have also been successfully used as a way to express the struggle and solidarity in the face of racial oppression, as well as to resist racist stereotypes and media representations of Black people.
Black athletes, such as Serena Williams, have also used sports, and the platform it has given them, as a way to advocate for social issues and political agendas
What was last year’s Black History Month theme?
Last year’s Black History Month theme was Time for Change: Action Not Words.
This theme focused on the need to tackle institutional racism through action and the importance of allyship in that battle.
Black History Month magazine said: “Black people are often given the double burden of experiencing racism and discrimination, and then being expected to fix it. Hopefully, by making the theme of this year’s Black History Month magazine and website Time for Change: Action Not Words’ we can come together to make a change for the better.”
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