Most Black institutions, including the NAACP Image Awards, were created because Black people were openly and systematically excluded. In recent years, the desire to make Blackness palatable to white markets and audiences has meant the erasure of Black people from the same spaces created for them.
Black History Month is more than reading about the Black achievements, stories, people, and movements that shaped the U.S. It’s essential to take these readings and teachings and put them into action.