Despite it All, Joy.
It is hard to be a Black man in America, but how joyful I am to be so. I would trade it for nothing in this world, despite it all.
I revel in every aspect of our shared Blackness: our intellectualism, our work ethic, our music, our style, our fortitude, our perseverance, our humor, and our unbounded love. And all of this endures in the face of truly existential challenges.
Despite how accustomed many have become to the daily vilification, denigration, and marginalization of Black Americans — and how so much has been stolen from us over the centuries (including our very names) — we remain among the most emulated, copied, and beloved purveyors of art, culture, invention, and creativity the world has ever seen.
As the late, great social commentator and comedian Paul Mooney once said, “Everybody wanna be a [Black person], but don’t nobody wanna be a [Black person].” Truer words have never been spoken.
As we are now midway through Black History Month, I ask everybody in our shared community to acknowledge, appreciate, and honor the many changes that Black folks in this country have made to uplift every marginalized community.
Without Black folks leading the charge to secure civil rights in America:
there would be few rights or protections for people of color
there would be few rights or protections for women
there would be few rights or protections for LGBTQ+ people
there would be few rights or protections for disabled persons
there would be few rights or protections for older adults
Our focus, fortitude, and indefatigability have made it possible for every disenfranchised population to advance in our country. America’s short memory often neglects this reality, but we at the Coalition of Communities of Color will never forget. We will always appreciate the sacrifices of so many Black Americans — and our stalwart and beautiful allies — that have brought us here. Work remains, but we will keep moving forward together.
So this month, and this entire year, and honestly every day forever: when you see a Black colleague, or Black friend, or Black parent, or Black child, share in our joy and show love for how Black Americans have made this country better and stronger.
Our current challenges in this chaotic and sorrowful epoch in America’s history will pass. But the knowledge we hold, the memory we have created, and the footprint indelibly stamped upon the world can never be erased or disingenuously rewritten.
Happy Black History Month to all of you who look like me and to all of you who don’t. Please cleave to the fact that we will prevail since, as another late, great social commentator, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once reminded us, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Justice is coming, but we must rely upon our collective power and determination to persevere.
Black History Month is American History Month.
Black History Month is our chance to remember and reflect.
Black History Month is hope.
In Solidarity,
Marcus C. Mundy
Executive Director
Coalition of Communities of Color