What started as Negro History Week in 1926 has evolved into an annual holiday observed all across the country. Black History Month is the time set aside to remember, honor and celebrate Black Americans and history of the African diaspora. With the month coming to a close, ABC Audio talked with a few Black entertainers who shared what the holiday means to them.
“It’s a moment of remembrance of who we are,” says Kelvin Harrison Jr., who plays Martin Luther King Jr. in Genius. “I think what we get to see is so many beautiful characters … that represent us and it’s a reminder that who we are gets us to that point.”
“I think Black History Month is a beautiful thing, and it’s something that we should deeply immerse ourselves in celebrating and championing,” Aaron Pierre, who is Malcolm X in Genius, says. “That said, as a Black man, Black history is every day, all the time. … I think it’s just a moment to celebrate ourselves, to see ourselves. … It’s a moment to be present in our beauty and in our greatness.”
“I don’t think there’s a Black History Month. I think that’s wrong for doing it [that way],” Darryl “DMC” McDaniels notes, echoing Pierre’s sentiment. “I think hip-hop has shown that we don’t need permission from anybody … we don’t need to be given an allotted time slot or time period.”
Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons says he’s “very proud of my people and very proud of what we do and what God gave us.”
“I am where I am because of Black history,” gospel singer Kierra Sheard reflects. “I am so proud to be a Black woman, just to see how my ancestors … fought for a little girl like me.”
Sheard adds, “Black history is world history to me.
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