When Upper School Counselor Emily Joyner thinks about Black History Month, she pictures her great-grandmother as a 14-year-old girl, standing on the docks of the Caribbean island of St. Thomas. Alone after her mother’s death, Joyner’s great-grandmother boarded a ship to the U.S., leaving behind everything she grew up with. Eventually, she made her way to New York, working for a Danish family to establish a foundation for later generations. Joyner said Black History Month represents the sacrifices and courage of those who came before her.
“My great-grandmother is really my anchor for my dad’s side,” Joyner said. “I have family from the Bahamas, but [my great-grandmother] came to the U.S. when she was 14 after her mom passed away. She didn’t have anybody else in the islands, and her father and her brothers all went to work on sugarcane plantations around that time.”
Before Black History Month, which was officially recognized in 1976, there was only a weeklong celebration in 1926 that aimed to honor the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans, according to NPR. Over several decades, university students and educators advocated for expanding the celebration, leading to the establishment of Black History Month as it is recognized today in the U.S., according to USA Today.
BLACC Co-Leader Dashiell Sparks ’26 said February is a time of discovery and inspiration for him as he learns more about important figures in Black history and celebrates with his community.
“Black History Month is important to me because each year I learn more about the contributions Black people have made,” Sparks said. “It excites me how I can enact change currently and in the future. Every year my family and I go to the Pan-African Film Festival and look forward to the MLK Day Parade and seeing the new Captain America movie with BLACC.”
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History carries on the celebration by announcing an annual theme. This year’s theme, “African Americans and Labor” highlights the contributions of Black workers in shaping the nation, according to the Associated Press. Regardless of theme, families use the month as an opportunity to explore their genealogy, learn about their ancestors or come together to eat a meal and make family trees, according to CBS News.
English Teacher LaShonda Long said by talking with her grandmother, she was able to teach the novel Beloved, which tells the story of a formerly enslaved family, from a more personal standpoint.
“In talking with my great- grandmother, and with the help of my father, I found out about my last name,” Long said. “I learned about the importance of name and naming, which allows me to teach Beloved by sharing my own history about my name.”
Upper School Counselor Brittany Bronson said she wants to discover more about her own family but is saddened by how much African American history has been lost over the years.
“I know a bit about my family history, but I’m interested in learning more about my roots,” Bronson said. “I always admire people who can trace their roots from centuries, and I don’t necessarily have that. I think a lot of Black people don’t. Some do, but it’s just really hard because a lot of history was lost, which always makes me sad. A lot of my family’s roots come from the South. I do know we’re mixed with Native American [ancestry]. Still, I would love just to be able to know more definitively.”
The Black population in the U.S. is diverse with members of different backgrounds and histories. While many are descendants of enslaved individuals, others are more recent immigrants to the country. About 46.8 million people in the U.S. identify their race as Black, either alone or as part of a multiracial or ethnic group, according to the Pew Research Center. Spanish Teacher Sephora Escarpeta-Garcia, who is Afro-Latina said people often have the misconception that all Black people come from the same culture.
“My grandfather is from Dominica, my grandmother is from Anguilla and they both migrated to Dominican Republic,” Escarpeta-Garcia said. “That’s how we became Dominican. People think African-American culture is the same culture as mine because I am Black, but it’s not. We eat different foods, [and] we think differently. Being Afro-Latina, a lot of people don’t understand that there’s colorism within our own culture. I grew up in New York, and I felt it was okay to be Afro-Latino over there because everybody looked like me.”
Tracing family history can be challenging for Black Americans due to the legacy of slavery. The difficulty lies in tracking ancestry before the 1870 census, as records of the enslaved are often handwritten, poorly kept or have been lost over time. Therefore, approximately 76% of Black Americans reported speaking with relatives to learn more about their family’s history, according to the Pew Research Center. At school, Joyner said she utilizes her culture’s tradition of storytelling to help students understand their identity.
“I’ve always loved the tradition of storytelling that’s part of Afro-Caribbean culture,” Joyner said. “I want to help empower students to tell their own stories and help find their narrative arcs for them so that it can impact how they view themselves. My lineage also supports me in connecting to that inner strength in the face of oppression and just talking about all the joy and amazing things that come from Black culture.”
Bronson said she feels it is essential not just to celebrate Black history during February, but also throughout the rest of the year.
“It’s important, not just in February, but every day, to showcase your identity and who you are,” Bronson said. “Now, especially with people straying away from DEI, it’s just really important to celebrate who they are as Black people and the culture.”
