The Global Field answers pressing questions from our grantees, addressing their in-the-field challenges. We guide and offer support to our partners and stakeholders. We further help navigate common community organizational issues.

If you have a question to ask the Global Field, contact us and you could see your questions posted in a future issue!

Your Question:

Our team is looking for significant ways to celebrate and share Black History Month with our network.

Our Response:

Celebrating Black History to the fullest is understood to be a must. This dedicated time marks a special moment in which historical lessons and events focus on the greatness of the African-American communities of the U.S.  Every employee on your team, and person in your network, will benefit when informed about the achievements of black communities. Taking steps to celebrate throughout the month will signal to your network the understanding you have that all the communities you serve need to know that they are appreciated, seen, cared about, listened to, and represented.

What is Black History Month?

From the White House:  A Proclamation on National Black History Month, 2023 During National Black History Month, we celebrate the legacy of Black Americans whose power to lead, to overcome, and to expand the meaning and practice of American democracy has helped our Nation become a more fair and just society.  This country was established upon the profound but simple idea that all people are created equal and should be treated equally throughout their lives.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2023 as National Black History Month.  I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with relevant programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.

Ways To Celebrate Black History Month

Take a Black tour of your city

As America struggles to acknowledge its revisionist American history, a tour, run by a Black tour company, will surprise even those who think they know their city. The tour guide will have a perspective and knowledge about Black life the mainstream tours do not have. In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, Black walking tours add context to the city known for location of the first shot fired during the Civil War. There is a rich culture of Gullah, who weave masterfully weave baskets, and cook red rice, a heritage brought over from West Africa and eaten throughout the coastal regions of the Carolinas and Georgia.

Tours help individuals learn all aspects of American history by connecting them to people and places that have played significant roles in the growth of Black culture and communities. As participants connect, they gain an understanding of, and empathy for, those whom they meet — and they learn to see the world through others’ eyes.

Visitors gain insight, but locals also benefit. Remembering and telling their stories helps community members preserve their culture.

Some examples:

• Black Cultural Heritage Tour Experiences
• Atlanta’s Black History and Civil Rights Tour
• What’s Up Downtown Parramore Historic Bus Trolley Tour
• Baltimore BLACK-OWNED RESTAURANT TOUR  Sunday FEB.19 – Saturday FEB.25
• The Black Journey: African-American History Walking Tour of Philadelphia

Arrange playdates

Intimate, unhurried play between children is always a win. Be open to going to the home of a Black friend, who may live in a Black or gentrifying neighborhood. This gesture of goodwill demonstrates an intentional desire to get to know that family. Not only will friendships deepen, but their home will reveal their sentiments, hopes and dreams — information that cannot be learned from afar. From the art on the walls, to bookshelves lined with titles by Black authors, Black dolls and action figures, up close and personal bonding is an act of celebration of Black culture.

Stream Black programs

Almost all of the streaming channels: Netflix, Hulu, Apple + TV, Peacock, STARZ, BET, and others have dedicated links to movies and television shows with Black experience themes. As a family, commit to watching a program with an all-Black cast or Black lead. There is no shortage of romance movies, sitcoms, cop shows, documentaries, horror movies, docu-series, concerts, and comedies available for all ages. By watching a variety of Black shows, viewers learn a few things: (1) not all Black people are the same; (2) there are universal joys and frustrations all parents share, (3) and dating in the 21st century is as complicated as ever. Stereotypes of gang-related Black boys and sassy Black girls begin to carry less weight and in-person encounters are less fraught with uncertainty. If a program sparks, tell a friend. The more eyes on a program, the more momentum is built for programming beyond February. Tuning in to Black programming has social and economic ramifications beyond Black History month. If ratings increase, production companies will seek Black talent, scripts written by Black screenwriters, and opportunities in front of and behind the camera will expand.

With the proliferation of Black History parades, film festivals, book signings and art exhibitions happening throughout the country, it is easy to get immersed in Black culture. Not only will curiosity be stoked and alliances made, but learning about Black history offers a window into largely overlooked achievements of Black Americans. This does not have to be limited to February.

Ultimately, the goal is to recognize the small and profound ways Black people have contributed to society, for America is not America without its Black people. 

Add some new podcasts to your queue

Podcasts are a great way to learn new things and hear from diverse voices, whether you’re on the go, doing some housework, on the treadmill — or just lounging! 

While there are countless amazing podcasts by Black producers and creators, here are a few that stand out for Black History Month listening:

• Historically Black 
• 1619 
• Black History Buff
• Noire Histoir
• Witness Black History
• Code Switch
• Seizing Freedom

Eat at a Black-owned restaurant

This Black History Month, we are embracing flavor. Stop into your favorite Black-owned restaurants, buy some gift cards to give or use in the future, and invest in good food made by good folks.

Not sure where to find a new eatery? EatOkra is an app and website that connects “foodies to Black restaurants and culinary events while amplifying the dining experience for and by Black communities.”

The Intentionalist provides local directories of where to shop to support all kinds of minority-owned businesses. It has specific filters if you’re interested in searching for Black-, LGBTQ-, woman-, Native- and disability-owned, among many other sorts of businesses you’d like to give your money to.

The National Black Guide has also created a directory of Black-owned businesses across the country that is organized under different tabs, like food and dining, health and fitness, community organizations and more. 

EatBlackOwned.com is a simple way to find and frequent Black-owned restaurants, wherever you may be.

Tip well, and be sure to keep coming back.

Redistribute your wealth through mutual aid

Eliminating the wealth gap between Black and white Americans is one of the largest challenges we all still face as a nation. Although a systemic adoption of reparations is necessary for Black Americans, we can all do our part to redistribute wealth in our own communities.

Find a mutual aid fund in your community or donate directly to an individual (or individuals) this Black History Month.

Find ways to be a more active member of your community

Just like mutual aid, community organizing and care work are longstanding types of activism that center the needs of marginalized folks and invite us to provide practical and personalized support.

By creating networks of regenerative and integrative communities, we can begin to dismantle the anti-Black systems that have kept us all separated for so long.

Become a better neighbor. Offer time, money, a meal, a letter of recommendation, or even childcare, to help a Black friend or community member (with their consent — we’re not white savior-ing, people!). Show up to rallies. Host community letter-writing parties to your representatives. Engage with your people to make the world a better place.

Meet heroes who advanced racial justice

The voices of these visionaries shape our present and inform our future

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois was a founding member of NAACP and one of the foremost Black intellectuals of his era. spirituals and blues to the rise of jazz.

Mary White Ovington

Mary White Ovington was deeply involved in two of the most important movements of the 20th century: civil rights and women’s suffrage. A 1908 article about race riots drove her to rally other thought leaders and activists to start NAACP.

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was one of America’s foremost attorneys. As chief of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, he led the legal fight against segregation, argued the historic 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, and ultimately became the nation’s first Black Supreme Court Justice.

As Black History is a month-long celebration, Global Foundation for Girls’ Ways To Celebrate Black History Month list will be a month-long series of articles. Continue to look to our website for more information and resources.