OPINION: Do’s and Don’t’s for non-Black people during Black History Month
February 11, 2022
Black History Month is a time for Black people to remember and celebrate not only past Black history but as well as future Black history in the making. During this time as well as during any time of month it is especially important to uplift Black voices and take time out to learn about Black history.
Here are some ways that non-Black people can be allies and what to do and what not to do during BHM.
What to Do
- Support Black-owned businesses
- Donate to Black organizations/go fund me’s for Black people in need
- Research CORRECT Black history facts
- Advocate for policy changes/sign petitions
- Learn about cultural appropriation/AAVE & why it’s not okay to use
What NOT to do:
- Speak over black voices
- Buy BHM products from white businesses
- Try to make it a “diversity” month. It’s about BLACK history.
- Try to whitewash history
- BE SILENT
- Invade spaces made for black people (including Black organizations, sororities and fraternities)
- Post black & white photos of recent historical figures (this makes our history seem like it happened a really long time ago when some things are more recent than you would think)
- Treat only February as BHM. We are Black 24/7! Things don’t ‘go back to normal’ after February
Patrick • Feb 11, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Thanks for this Article. My Dad’s side of the family is from Barbados and Mom’s US Virgin Islands, but I wasn’t fully raised in either culture and felt a bit out of place especially in the last couple of years. Started reading a Buzzfeed article about Sydnee Thompson after looking up some of the terms in this article now I’m excited to learn more. Been learning a lot over past couple of years, and I do think that if we learned history the correct way, this world would be a better place for it.