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I am very excited about the buzz surrounding Black History Month in our community. We must pick up the mantel and carry on the tradition of sharing our stories. I have been reading various books throughout the past year or so. I finished two books in January that referenced historical figures. I had no idea how much I would enjoy historical fiction, but I did.

You have got to add The Personal Librarian and The First Ladies to your list. Reading The Personal Librarian led me to read The First Ladies. What I liked about each is that they allowed me to see the world in which these notables lived and the context in which they overcame limiting circumstances.

In The Personal Librarian, Belle deCosta Greene was a trailblazer; she became J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian. What was so intriguing about her story is that she was a Black woman who passed. The First Ladies was also intriguing because it chronicled the friendship between Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. The former became known as the “First Lady of the Struggle,” and the latter was the First Lady of the United States. I learned so much about each of these historical figures. While each of these women was incredible and driven, I became fascinated with Ms. Bethune’s life. I remember the scene from Six Triple Eight where Ms. Bethune visited Ms. Roosevelt to encourage her to consider the women of the 6888 for deployment. That was intriguing enough, and then to find out through The First Ladies that they had a decades-long friendship was shocking and fascinating!

I look forward to finding out more about Ms. Bethune through her granddaughter’s book, The Bethune Blueprint: Transforming Your Life Using the Lessons of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

Day 1 – February 1st

“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better,”

            ― Carter G. Woodson, quote from The Mis-Education of the Negro

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Dr. Carter G. Woodson is considered the father of Black History. He instituted Negro History Week, which became Black History Week. Black History Week eventually became Black History Month. Dr. Woodson selected February to recognize the birthdays of two prominent Americans: Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Beginning today, our version of Project 2025 recognizes the contributions of Africans throughout the diaspora, beginning with Americans of African descent. How this will be achieved is still a work in progress. However, since I love to read, I think I am going to start off by discussing some of the readings I have completed and am in the process of reading.

I want to start by recognizing Dr. Woodson’s book The Mis-Education of the Negro. I started reading this book last year when Dr. Greg Carr and other Knubians discussed it in Knarrative. To be honest, I can’t remember if it was last year or the year before (2023). Nevertheless, the book is compelling and thought-provoking, mainly because it was written nearly a century ago. A lot has changed, yet a lot is still the same. Today’s climate is eerily similar to other times in the 20th century when fascism and authoritarianism were on the rise.

A consistent message in our community throughout intensely troubling times is that the Most High God is on the throne, and when we cry out, He answers. Although I am still troubled, this awareness gives me peace as long as I keep my eyes on Jesus.