Black History Month 2021: the beginning of more conversations to come

One of Hetal’s friends, Teshia, orchestrated a meaningful conversation with Ms Debra Cooper but wasn’t able to attend herself. Our friend, Dr Ishmail Lamptey-Mills, just happened to be in town and joined us. Ms Cooper and Dr Lamptey-Mills talked about the importance and meaning behind Black History Month. The vibe was magical while learning about some truly significant achievements in American history that were accomplished by people of African heritage. The conversation meandered as it usually does with Stevie and Hetal. We talked about soul food; Hetal didn’t know about chitlins. Stevie even called Governor George Corley Wallace Jr a son of a b*@ch much to Ms Cooper’s surprise. We forgot to mention beforehand that mild to moderate profanity presents itself here at Apologies Now…from time to time. Stevie confirmed that it was quite appropriate in this context.

Black History Month is imperative for reminding the community, especially the black youth, of the various accomplishments and successes of black women and men that may have gone unnoticed or forgotten. These images and stories have to exist in the minds of children for them to recognize their own full potential. Lamptey-Mills’ description of his childhood in Ghana truly solidified this sentiment for us. The entire conversation was short and sweet but it was apparent that it was just the intro to many future discussions.