by The Communications Team

With Spring just around the corner, let’s take a moment to reflect back on Black History Month (BHM). It began as “Negro History Week” in 1926, the brainchild of historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland as part of their work as the founders of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Their goal was to bring attention to the history of African Americans in this country - correcting misrepresentations and highlighting overlooked contributions. It continued to grow in popularity, particularly during the Civil Rights Era, until it was finally officially recognized and expanded to a month-long celebration in 1976 during President Ford’s administration.

You may also know it as the month when every company brings out their finest sepia-toned, kente cloth inspired, Pan-African Flag colored, “urban” voiced ads. If you’re fortunate (and don’t live in Florida), it’s also the month that your child’s classroom is filled with red-black-green and adorned with posters of Madame C.J. Walker, George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The kids have a special BHM curriculum to get through. There’s probably a special project to present their favorite Black History figure and maybe even a chance to write their own “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s beautiful and flavorful, it’s exciting, it’s “Black History is American History,” and then on March 1st it’s gone. Why? Obligation.

Black History Month has become an obligation: a curriculum line item and a seasonal marketing campaign (even that might be changing) - something to do and get over with. Black Futures Month is a movement to remember the past while also focusing on the path to prosperity ahead.  It’s a beautiful addition but one month will never be enough to address the key issue. Just as Black history is an integral part of American history, Black people are an integral part of America, but we aren’t always treated as such. Today’s America would look drastically different without the foundational tools and technologies that we created, yet the rest of the population only comes close to acknowledging this fact for one month of the year. Remember, without us IBM and HP would not have been able to launch their computing businesses. We wouldn’t have Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Uber. We wouldn’t have Zoom or Facetime. We might have even lost the Space race. 

We need Black History Month; we need Black Futures Month; we need a specific time to concentrate on celebrating all the things that make us, us. And, we need to ensure that our history is taught, our needs are met, and our contributions are honored throughout the year. We need to shift the paradigm from 1 month of obligation to 12 months of integration with a bonus month of celebration. How do we do that?

The Black Tech Policy Collective is far from the first, or only, organization to ponder that question. We stand on the shoulders of organizations like SNCC, the Black Panthers, and the NAACP as we imagine a future where our community has a seat at the table for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A future in which we have our Black Zuckerbergs. A future in which we own the natural resources on our land that powers technology worldwide. A future where we don’t use an AI that was trained on white supremacist content or ethnic extremes. A future where we benefit from the goldmine that we have made social media. A future where we close the racial wealth gap that has plagued us for centuries. It’s ours for the taking.

At this inflection point, we have an opportunity to go up, together The multifaceted problem calls for a multifaceted solution. These next 12 months, let’s mute Elon and make sure the world hears from Lo.  Let’s watch what Apple’s doing while we celebrate Dr. Mark Dean.  Let’s tell our kids to learn from John W. Thompson instead of aspiring to be “the next Bill Gates.”  If you're also committed to celebrating us and advocating for us year-round, we hope you’ll join us on this journey.