In honor of Black History Month, last week a law student at the prestigious HBCU, Florida A&M University, was stopped from handing out flyers on campus for a Black History Month celebration.
A university staffer told her that the word “Black” on a Black History Month flyer violated Florida’s law prohibiting DEI programming at public universities. Later, the FAMU officials rescinded the command saying the staffer had the wrong information. In fact, Florida passed an anti-DEI legislature in 2023 and under the Trump administration DEI has been basically banned.
This year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) celebrates the 100th anniversary of Dr. Carter G. Woodson creating a week, that became a month, that spotlights the accomplishments of people of African descent.
However, the Trump administration is attempting to delete Black history from cancelling federal Black History grants for cultural institutions to removing Black exhibits at government locations.
This includes displays at George Washington’s home in Philadelphia, where several of his slaves lived, to removing memorial panels of Black World War II soldiers at the American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands.
“We’re here at a century of Black history commemorations. We’re also at a time when Black history is under attack. There’s a question about what happens with Black history and where do we go with it?,” historian Dr. Karsonya Whitehead, president of ASALH, told Our Time Press. “I make the argument that now more than ever that we need to protect, promote, and preserve Black History.
It’s the responsibility of every American, not just the Black community, but American. Because Black history is American history. I think people should be committed to learning about the contributions that Black people made to America because it helps to tell the complete American historical narrative.”
Brooklyn resident historian, Dr. Zebulon Miletsky, associate professor of Africana Studies at Stony Brook, also heads marketing outreach at ASALH. Like Dr. Whitehead, he is a frontline advocate in promoting Black history programs to communities. “The attempt to erase our contribution was always afoot.
I believe that was the reason why Dr. Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week in 1926, in the first place. They told us we had no history—no great men, no great women, no great accomplishments, nothing worthy of note—even though roughly 75% of the world’s population are people of color.
So this fight continues,” said Dr. Miletsky. “Dr. Woodson largely believed that there may come a day when Black History Month would no longer be needed—when American history would make room for the Black Experience, and correct the narrative.
It would pain me to have to tell the good Doctor that he was overly optimistic about that in 2026. And that now, one hundred years later, we are fighting to save the historical markers—which are so important—and vital.”
Adrian Straker, MS Ed, Northeast Board Member of the National Alliance for Black School Educators was part of the committee of educators involved in the development of the Black Studies curriculum for New York City Public Schools grades K to 12. The course,” The “Black Studies as the Study of the World,” covers topics from ancient and contemporary Africa to the Caribbean to the Harlem Renaissance, the abolitionist movement, and African American political leadership. She is advocating that the course be in all New York City Public Schools.
“Representation matters. This curriculum is inclusive and culturally responsive. It presents an education for all students. Providing an outstanding history that’s resilient and helps to shape us all,” Straker told Our Time Press. “It provides a cultural reference for students and educators as well. It builds stronger identities, foster’s pride and self-confidence, particularly among Black and Brown students. It also gives a balanced perspective for their peers and encourages empathy, collaboration, and also respect.”
Dr. Miletsky agrees.
“Sometimes, like the sphinx, the effort to erase, becomes more notable for what that effort attempted to do, which is to make sure that no young Black girl or boy ever connects the greatness of something like Egypt and themselves. And so it becomes important to try to eradicate that history.
There is a deeper and harder to face truth—and this should be a lesson for our young people—which is that there is someone—some force—that does not want you to know this,” he said. “Because to know it would be to acknowledge a larger truth about the origins of humanity, and the African and Black role in it.”
To Dr. Whitehead, the only way to make Black history permanent is by telling our history and doing the work to preserve our stories. “If we relied on any exhibits that could be taken down, those are artifacts and they are not permanent. Permanent is the truth of our story. You can’t fight what they’re taking down. What you can do instead is that you can push against it.
You can make sure that as quickly as they’re putting up that information that we are getting permanent records,” said Dr. Whitehead. “We are writing about our history. That we are sharing our history. Telling our history. That is the way our history is remembered and the way it’s preserved.”
For more information on ASALH, visit www.asalh.org
