Black History Month Day 1 of 29
Kicking off Black History Month by dropping the annual, much anticipated, Swarm Strategy #BHMPlaylist 🔥🎶 This speciality playlist curated by *me* celebrates the rich tapestry of Black joy, history and culture through the soulful beats, classic hits, R&B and hip-hop music rooted in #TheCookout.
Because no good cookout is complete without the perfect soundtrack! 🍔✨
🎧 Listen through the Swarm Strategy Black History Month playlist to get your workday, and Black History Month, started: https://lnkd.in/eA3Fjp7Q
⬇️ Comment Below: Let me know your favorite song on the playlist OR a favorite song of yours from your own cookout traditions
👀 Still looking for Black History Month programming to bring to your company or organization this month? Need a keynote speaker who is engaging, has a deep understanding of Black history and can speak to the lived experience of living at the intersection of Black, queer & trans identity? Let's talk!
📧 bryce@swarmstrategy.us
🖤 Learn more about The Cookout – how it represents Black History, BHM program + workshop offerings and more at https://lnkd.in/ek7aZ6VZ
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#BlackHistoryMonth#CelebrateCulture#blackhistory#blackhistory365#blackstoriesmatter#blackexcellence#DEI#diversity#equity#diversityandinclusion#inclusion#racialjustice#racialequity#culture#community
My Highlight Of The Week is from Morgan Freeman who talks about his issue with Black History Month: https://lnkd.in/eNXFjpPM
The 18th of July marks the start of South Asian Heritage Month. I see colleagues celebrating and sharing their personal stories and those of the diaspora. I share many of their experiences. The goal of the month by the founder and colleague Dr Binita Kane is for the month not to exist. This I do not understand: how can you celebrate and educate heritage but not want to do this. If the goal is inclusion of South Asians into society, does celebrating our “otherness” seek to divide us from the rest of society? The balance between being proud of our identity and feeling at one with others is very fine.
I think it’s important to define what success is with anything in life. Those in health inequalities spaces must define the exact moment when health equality is achieved. With heritage months, we must define what success is. If integration is the goal, when will integration be achieved?
One of is his arguments are rooted in that Black History is American history and implies that celebrating Black History in a single month is tokenistic. Similarly South Asian heritage is British heritage: why would we celebrate it in a month? Some would say it’s not celebrated anyway - so this is our space to celebrate.
His other argument suggests countering that educating people about Black History would not decrease racism. It’s hard to know if that’s true in the USA or the UK. However, I do think that those that are curious about other people’s ethnic background are a self-selecting bunch. The people who do not care about other people cannot be educated so I wonder whether this in fact is multiplying another kind of inverse-care law. The inverse-care law implies that those who need the most care are least likely to access that care, e.g. the poorest / marginalised in society. Similarly, those are in need of most education about different people’s journeys in life are least likely to care.
Altogether I’m confused about South Asian Heritage month but one thing is for certain. I deeply proud of the sacrifices that my ancestors made for me to have such a great life with simple pleasures. I am proud of where I come from in the UK and beyond (it’s complicated). But, we must not forget how we as humans are more similar, than different.
How did Black History Month start?
In 1915, historian Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The group launched Negro History Week in February of 1926 as a coordinated effort to develop lessons and encourage the teaching of Black history across the nation's communities and public schools. In time, mayors and other leaders issued annual proclamations recognizing "Negro History Week” and many communities expanded beyond weeklong activities. Public intellectuals, church, and civic organizations, the Black press, politicians and historians promoted the initiative, which evolved in the 1960s amid the national discourse on race and identity.
Negro History Week formally changed into what would become Black History Month by 1976 when President Gerald Ford extended the observation to a full month - one honoring the contributions of black Americans to this day. Since then, every U.S. president has recognized the month and endorsed a specific theme set by ASALH. #black#history#month#BHM#ICM2024#ASALH#Diversity#Inclusion#Education#Understanding#Culture#NationalAllianceEducation#ContinuousLearning
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