This question sparks thoughts of purpose, maybe because it erupts mixed feelings among many. Black history month is important to many people but when you consider the entire population, which is significantly small. Schools and organizations use the month as an opportunity to focus on approaches to instilling values in young folk's lives. I feel its importance lies within the children who need something to believe in. In a world where most African-American children are often a product of diaspora, learning as much about their heritage as possible builds confidence in their identity. When I reached the age of 30 it occurred to me that I didn't know much about my bloodline, ancestry, or what part of the world my great-grandmother came from.
Black History Month for me is a time for reflection on black historians and Afro-American community members who make a difference in our lives. We talk about those before us who made an impact on our community, our livelihood, and society. Like I said, at 30 I had a midlife crisis of wanting to know more about my roots, yes my mother and father are from Jamaica, and both my grandparents are Jamaican too but that is as far as my recollection of my family goes. I don't even know the names of anyone before my grandmother's generation. This develops many questions in my mind like, where did my ancestors come from? What part of Africa did we originate from? Without getting a DNA test I choose to turn to read. I read UNESCO's General History of Africa vol 1-7 books. I thought maybe I could get a glimpse or some form of insight as to who I am and where I could have come from. I feel most Afro-Americans come to a point in their lives where they reach an understanding that they know nothing about themselves.
Despite this feeling, I do feel lucky because I spent ten years with my grandparent between the ages 7 and 16 before they passed away. I realized that even in those decades of contact there were plenty of holes in what I knew about my family and lots of emerging questions that were never thought of or addressed. This tells me that there is so much that my family never spoke of because of shame. For me Black History Month is very important, I would never be the person I am today had I not been able to participate. It allow me the awareness of holding myself accountable for educating myself about my history and it helped me to formulate new questions to keep me always hungry for knowledge about my identity. I also am instilled with an ambition to make a change within my community.