I’ve been quiet on here for a while, but that’s for another time. February is Black History Month! A time to celebrate Black History and Excellence! Now you might be wondering what I as a white, queer, non-binary person might be doing to celebrate? I am educating myself and using my platform and privilege to empower Black voices. My job is not to speak for the Black community. It is to listen and learn. I am using my platform to share some of the resources I’ve been using to learn more about black communities and history. It is truly wide and wonderful!

Reading

I’m currently reading The Myth of Race by Robert Wald Sussman. Professor Sussman is an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis known for his work on debunking scientific racism. He takes a hard look at the ingrained myth of racism still prevalent in Western society, how it emerged and how it impacts current scientific research.

Recipes

Recently, I discovered Sonja Norwood, a talented content creator and owner of Wick’d Confections. This month, Ms. Norwood has  been exploring historical black recipes. She not only provides the recipes, but history about the dishes, their origins, and what caused them to disappear from home kitchens. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram, or order some of her incredible confections on her website Wick’d Confections.

Culture

Another topic I’ve been learning about over the last several years has been about Gullah Geechee culture. I stumbled onto this beautiful culture through watching an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where he focused on Gullah food traditions. This led me to Sunn m’Cheaux. He is the first and only instructor of the Gullah language at Harvard University. Mr. m’Cheaux is also a musician, artist, activist and educator on Gullah culture. His content is intelligent, interesting, and thought provoking. You can find out more info about Mr. m’Cheaux on his website where you can find links to all of his socials.

Education

And most especially, probably my favorite educator – Blair Imani. Ms. Imani is an author, educator, podcast host and content creator. She covers a wide range of intersectional topics including gender, race and racism, LGBTQIA+ communities, sociology and US History. I love her Smarter in Seconds web series. She provides information in a fun and easy to learn format, and her energy is just contagious! You can find more info on her on her website.

Take some time to learn more about Black History, both the terrible parts and the beautiful parts. There are many rich and varied cultures, incredible and talented people, and a lot of hard truths I think are vital to be shared, discussed and addressed.

Happy Learning!