Remembering Matters

Why Black History Month is about telling the stories we risk forgetting

I grew up in Texas, the last place in the country to learn that enslaved people had been freed. That delay is the reason we now observe Juneteenth.

Several years ago, I posted on social media that I had never been taught about that moment in history. A dear friend who had been my Texas history teacher in middle school responded immediately. She reminded me that she absolutely had taught us about Juneteenth.

I’m grateful she did. I’m saddened that I had forgotten.

That moment has stayed with me. It made me think about how easily history can fade when we stop telling its stories, or worse, when we begin rewriting them.

This Black History Month, I am sharing small stories, names, and moments from history across social media. Not because I’m an expert, but because remembering matters. As I come across these stories, I want to share them.

Black history is American history. It is part of the fabric of this country.

America was built through slavery. That truth must be acknowledged. But the story of Black Americans is not defined by slavery alone. It is also a story of invention, courage, leadership, creativity, resistance, and joy. Those stories deserve to be told again and again.

Right now, we are living in a moment when history itself feels contested. There are Americans who resist celebrating Black history. There are leaders who struggle to acknowledge that this country stands on stolen land. There is a growing movement to smooth over the stains and contradictions that are part of America’s story.

But history does not disappear when we stop talking about it. It disappears when we forget it.

We need to continue to lift every voice, as the Black National Anthem reminds us, and keep sharing the truths our country has lived.

So follow along with me on social media this month. Or better yet, when you see a story or a historical fact in your own feed, hit the reshare button so more people can see and learn.