Black History Month reminds me to take time to appreciate those who came before me to pave the way for my success. It's a reminder to slow down and celebrate all that we as a people have achieved despite the many obstacles placed before us. It's a time for me to marvel at our ingenuity, resilience, compassion for those who sometimes don't deserve it, and our spirit of persistence!
This month I enlisted some friends and colleagues to share what they love about Black History Month and although it means something slightly different to each of us, we all delight in celebrating our past, present and future!
Grace Fasaye is a senior genetic counselor in the Genetics Branch
Black History Month is a time to celebrate and reflect on the strength, bravery, creativity and resilience of Black Americans who have shaped our culture and blazed the path for current history makers. It’s a time to soak in amazing black history stories from relatives, documentaries and news outlets. Just the other day on social media I learned that in 1947 Dr. Marie M. Daly was the first Black American woman to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. The month is also a time to ask my parents to retell personal stories so that I can probe to learn more historical details about the Black experience. My father loves to tell the one about traveling from his small village in Nigeria to America as a young man with $50 in his pocket to pursue an education at Howard University. My mother’s stories center on growing up with 13 siblings in Washington, D.C., and thriving despite racist policies that significantly impacted their daily lives. The messages of how to rise above barriers with dignity, grit and love is why Black History Month is important to me.
Dr. Binta Jalloh is a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Receptor Biology & Gene Expression
Every month is Black History Month. But I love the fact that an entire month has been dedicated to celebrating and honoring Black History. I am a proud and spiritually awakened Black woman who happens to be a scientist where I am often the only black woman in the room. I am especially aware of my Blackness at weekly lab meetings, seminars, and at conferences where I am often made to feel extremely uncomfortable; yet I persist and stand my ground. I was fortunate to learn early on about the persistence of my ancestors both in Africa and here in America who endured so much for me to be here today. While I acknowledge and recognize that celebrating Black History Month is an important step towards educating and uplifting the Black race, I do not need to be reminded of the importance of Black History. Every month is Black History Month and I take it upon myself to honor my African heritage and ancestors daily by reading works from Dr. Dennis Kimbro, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, Madam C.J. Walker, Frederick Douglas, George Washington Carver, Malcolm X, W.E.B DuBois, Garvey, Obama and so many other Black men and women who inspire me. The person I am today is the result of all the dreams, visions, hopes, teachings, and desires that these individuals gave the world. They remind us that every black and brown child in the world has what it takes to achieve anything they put their minds to. Therefore, let no one deprive you of your freedom and birthright to be or do anything you desire. You are life expressing itself in a magnificent form that is uniquely you, so, let your magnificence shine through and live life magnificently by simply being you!
Dr. Troy Muhammad is a Program analyst in the NCI Office of Workforce Planning and Development
A comprehensive knowledge of self is critical to our advancement as a people. An incomplete knowledge will further the misconception that Black Men and Women were originally slaves and contributed nothing to society. In fact, Black Men and Women were the first Human Beings to walk in the light of the Sun as the original people and our collective Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding is unparalleled when you study our achievements since the dawn of civilization. We can only understand and appreciate our contributions to civilization when we study our history, and the history of all peoples. That’s why I am a huge fan of the moniker Temet Nosce, which means Know Thyself.
Dr. Urbain Weyemi is a Stadtman Investigator and NIH DSP Scholar in the Developmental Therapeutics Branch
As someone who grew up in Africa, Black History Month is a special time of the year during which I personally reflect upon the achievements and legacies of many Black Scientists who have come before. I usually do it through my readings and the many monthly celebrations. During my postdoctoral period, I attended with other Black scientists of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, an event at the Reginald Lewis African American Museum of Baltimore, where I learned about Levi Watkins Junior’s life. Professor Watkins Jr. was a heart surgeon and a civil rights activist who was the first to successfully conduct the implantation of an automatic defibrillator in a human patient alongside another giant Black Scholar, Vivien Thomas. This year, I learned about the life of Ronald McNair, a Physicist and NASA Astronaut. Ronald McNair was one of the three astronauts who died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. One unique thing about him is that, at the age of nine, he was so eager to learn that he refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library in the summer of 1959 unless he could check out the books he had picked. He later got approved to borrow books from the same library even after the police were called on him. One important thing I noticed about the life of both McNair and Watkins Jr. is that they were excellent at what they did and fought hard for the next generation of scientists. They were unique voices in the Black community and strived to succeed at a time when the prejudices about Black people in STEM were so ferocious. Their personal life and legacy are the unequivocal meaning of what the late French Black poet Aimee Cesaire once wrote in his pamphlet, Cahier d’un retour au pays natal: “My mouth shall be the mouth of those calamities that have no mouth, my voice the freedom of those who break down the prison holes of despair.”
Additional Resources:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/celebrating-black-history-month
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1075623826/why-is-february-black-history-month
Aligned is a blog written by the Center for Cancer Research's Office of Equity and Inclusion discussing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and highlighting various ways we can all be more involved in creating a more diverse scientific workforce. Learn more about CCR's commitment to inclusion.