Well, February has been a very interesting and beautiful month.Black History Month is always a great yet short month, but even with such short a time, this month is always filled with the great history of the African American people.

I having children feel that it is very important to teach our children about our heritage not only in this month but every day. With all that is going on in our world today it is important to always #staywoke. By stay woke I mean know yourself and who you are and your history of where you came from.

1.Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party was formed in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P Newton. The group was set up to help blacks and stand up for what is right. “All power to the People”, as they would say no matter the color of your skin. Now it is said that the Black Panthers were just communists, but as we see they nothing but men and women demanding respect and humility for their race, standing up to police brutality that still goes on to this day.

2.Willie Lynch

Now, you will not read about this guy and his address anywhere in a schoolbook. It is up to you to do your research as far as Willie Lynch goes. Now, this man right here was a slave owner and addressed his fellow people of ways to control his slaves to keep them obedient. These tactics may still be used to this day. So, when you get some free time, look up the Willie Lynch Address.

3.Madam CJ Walker

On the lighter side of things, I would like to bring back into the light Madam CJ Walker, who became the world’s first African American woman to be a millionaire by being an entrepreneur. Walker became famous for her hair products for women of color. Her products are still sold today keeping her vision and skills alive.

4.Fred Hampton

Okay now back to getting serious. It is important to know your history to know your rights to know what happened and how the generations before us overcame certain issues and change. Fred Hampton is a very important reason we should teach our youth even the history that is not in the classrooms.

On December 4, 1969, Hampton was gunned down and murdered while he slept in his bed during a raid by Cook County police. It was said that he was set up by his bodyguard who was hired by the FBI to infiltrate the Black Panthers. Please, when you get a chance search Fred Hampton.

5.Education

Education is a very important part of life. It is important to be well educated because it shows growth and evolution of an individual. I chose education as well because for years our ancestors were not able to read or write. Being educated was not for African Americans and if you were caught, you could be beaten or worse.

So, in our society today, I feel that it is very important to understand and know your history and how far we have come today. Growth is important, and it is time to continue to grow.