Happy Black History Month!

Black History Month is such an impactful month as we and our students reflect on the racial issues that both positively and negatively influence our daily lives. With all of the negativity, hatefulness, and inhumane situations we see daily on social media, the news, and internet sites; we need a mental break and some motivation to strengthen our hope for a better future.

This month as we work with students and meditate on the profound words, courageous acts, and innovative creations executed by some of the most influential members of the Black/African American community, I charge you all with the task to see how you can implement one of the following through the rest of the year. How can you be a REBEL like Nat Turner and call out injustice for what it is? If a student comes to you with a social justice issue, please direct them to the appropriate office or resource(s). How can you SLAY like First Lady Michelle Obama and not only dress well, but ensure our students are eating healthy on a daily? If you know of a student who is dealing with food insecurity, please direct them to the food pantry on campus or other available resources. How can you DANCE like Misty Copeland and take a break for yourself to have a personal dance session to relieve some stress or tiredness from all that you do on a daily? These are a few examples we can use to implement a little change in our own lives as we work with our students. How can you?:

Rebel like Nat Turner
Challenge like Rosa Parks
Educate like W.E.B. Du Bois
Demand like Stokely Carmichael
Advocate  like Daisy Bates
Fight like Malcolm X
Speak like Frederick Douglass
Lead like Harriet Tubman
Dream like Martin Luther King Jr.
Write like Maya Angelou
Think like Marcus Garvey
Organize like Huey P. Newton
Inspire like Barack Obama
Slay like Michelle Obama
Reclaim like Maxine Waters
Dance like Misty Copeland
Draw like Jean-Michael Basquiat
Calculate like Katherine Johnson
Produce like Quincy Jones
Photograph like Gordon Parks
Motivate like Madam C.J. Walker
Dominate like Serena Williams
Champion like Shirley Chisholm

Consider posting the Happy Black History Month Print Out in your office!

As you reflect on all of these individuals and the awesome things they were able to achieve for justice, love, and peace; please think about how you can take attributes from these great people whom have impacted the lives of all of our students. Their brave acts led to our students being able to connect, learn, and grow with one another. As an additional treat, here is a link to a very relevant and power song from one of my favorite artist Ms. India Arie entitled “What If”

As India Arie stated, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we can change the world with our LOVE cause it’s up to us…” We all matter in one way or another, as we all have something to contribute to the betterment of society.

 

About the Writer:

Sherrina Lofton

Sherrina Lofton is a first-year Advising First Academic Advisor for the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE). She is originally from California and moved to Florida to pursue her doctorate in Higher Education. When she is not in class or at work, she is home cooking and listening to R&B and Soul.

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