What I Want You to Know About Black History Month

I recently saw someone on Facebook say that Black History Month is played out. This statement rubbed me the wrong way and I felt I needed to share why. My children are biracial, I am black, and I am married to a white man. Sadly, racism is not gone and we’ve had crude things said in front of our children. Black History Month will never be played out — it’s part of the past, present, and future. It needs to be talked about freely and not just in February. After all, being being black doesn’t happen for one month; it’s all year long.

I will always celebrate Black History Month and share its importance with my kids.

While this post is not an ad for Target, I’m so excited to share that Target is celebrating Black History Month and I’m here for it! Target celebrates family fashion all year long. They even share stories from the Target members who put the collection together. What I love is that the Target campaign is not just about clothes; it shows that all shades are beautiful and they celebrate everything from makeup, and music, to skincare!

I love that Target carries hair products for my kids. Do you know how hard it is to find products for their hair? Have I mentioned how sickening it makes me that in the past I’ve had to go to the Dollar General? Yes, there have been times when I needed something for my kids’ hair and I went to the Dollar General, only to find that the products for ethnic hair were behind the registers, while all the other hair care products were on the floor. Needless to say, I did not purchase anything from them. To see that Target has literally everything from Black History Month fashion to hair products means so much to me because I can get all that my family needs in one place.

But here’s what I want you to know about Black History Month:

It’s not about making anyone feel guilty about the past. It’s so much deeper than the horrific things black people endured; it’s also about what they overcame! Black History Month also teaches us not to fear talking about color. Kids will ask questions, but I think it’s important to use those curious moments to discuss differences and to teach our children that all shades are beautiful. Don’t be afraid to talk about our differences, and if certain things about Black History Month make you feel uncomfortable, I challenge you to look within and figure out why.

Let’s talk about hair. Please do not go up to children — or anyone — and pet their hair! If you must, always ask. Tell them it’s beautiful, but please don’t pet it or make rude comments. Once someone told me my daughter’s hair needed to flat ironed! I kindly told her to mind her own business and that my daughter’s hair was beautiful just the way it is. I find joy in conditioning my children’s hair and brushing through it. I make it a point to tell my daughters how beautiful their hair is. Do you know why? Because growing up I was so ashamed of my hair because it wasn’t like my peers’ hair. Hair Love and Don’t Touch My Hair are really good children’s book on the topic of embracing different hair textures.

I am so glad that big places like Target are supporting Black History Month. Let’s take this opportunity to teach our kids to love others all year long. Let’s teach them to speak up if they see others treating someone badly because of the color of their skin or because they are different. There are so many things that happened in the past that play a huge factor in life today. For instance, because of one man’s dream and Mildred and Richard Loving, my family and many others are able to be together today! We still have a lot of work to be done, but remembering how far we have come should push the mission of equality all that much more.

Black History Month is so important, not just because of the past, but also because it’s our history now too. We are making history, we are raising awareness, crushing stereotypes, and that is something ALL of us can do, but we have to do it together all year long.