Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
February is Black History Month, a time when America steps back and celebrates the contributions and contemplates the struggles of Black Americans. For many of us, it is also a reminder that Black liberation is yet to be actualized; that white supremacy is still inherently rooted in our social, political and economic structures.
History is indeed a testament to how far we have come when it comes to racial equity but also how much further we have to go.
But for me, this month has always been one of positivity and pride rather than sadness and desolation. For 28 days, or however long February is, I choose to remember those moments in time that have uplifted us, that have awed us all with people’s bravery and resolve, and have shown us the ability of the human voice to pave the path for major change.
This Black History Month, there is much to be proud of and many for whom we are grateful. In the realm of politics alone, Black women in Georgia and Alabama and across the entire country, carried out unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaigns that helped flip states from Republican to Democratic and ensure an electoral victory for President Joe Biden. One of these Black women, Stacey Abrams, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for that work.
That work also helped elect the first Black and South Asian vice president, Kamala Harris, who is also the first woman ever to hold that position. No matter your opinion on her political resume, that is a point to celebrate.
There is no denying that we see this increased civic engagement against a backdrop of voter disenfranchisement, segregation, and disparities that affect communities of color, but it’s also a reflection of the resilience of Black communities, particularly African American ones, in the face of incredible barriers to things like civic participation. It is encouraging that in America’s darkest moments, in a time when a fascist administration wielded white supremacy as a tool to disparage and divide us, that Black people were still able to persevere.
To fully understand the perseverance of Black Americans through history however, we need to fully understand that to be Black in America also means to be constantly traumatized by systemic racism.
White supremacy is a huge burden to bear.
I have learned that in order to deal with it all, I must look to self love as a method of healing. For me, as a Black woman, there is no greater love and hope I have found than in the words of those who came before me. While we carry generational trauma, we also carry with it generational resilience. Our ancestors have shared that resilience through music, poetry, spoken word and literature.
One of my favorite songs is “Freedom is a Constant Struggle,” performed by the Freedom Singers during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, when three civil rights workers went missing in June 1964 and were later found dead.
Its words are heavy yet they are also hauntingly hopeful, and they never cease to humble me. In society’s darkest moments, I choose to find peace in the words of the Freedom Singers and I hope all of you can find healing in it as I have.
“They say that freedom is a constant struggle,
O Lord, we’ve struggled so long,
We must be free.”
Nada Elmikashfi is a former candidate for state Senate and chief of staff to state Rep. Francesca Hong.
