CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY ALL YEAR LONG

For a decade, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council has themed its Black history festivals. This year, Tayari, Swahili for “I’m prepared, I’m ready,” is our guiding principle. Three or four years ago, the NMBLC started deleting “month” from what we did with the festival. So, now it’s the New Mexico Black History Festival & Events and we announce celebrations happening throughout the year.

Black History Month as a “set-aside” will always be important. We are so grateful to have it. However, there are those who think February is the only time we need to talk about Black American matters. In many cases, they don’t know why February was dedicated, nor who Carter G. Woodson is. Which tells us, there isn’t enough education about how Black history is American history.

Celebrating our stories and people outside of February isn’t exotic or unusual. We want people to understand this history belongs to all of us, the good parts and the bad; the totality of the American experience.

In the spirit of Tayari, NMBLC’s forthcoming events include our Roots Summer Leadership Academy, the One New Mexico Gospel Concert, the Pamoja 5k Fun Run, and a leadership conference. We also want to serve a complementary role with our civic brothers and sisters—including the African American Performing Arts Center, the Office of African American Affairs, the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Commission, UNM’s African American Student Services, and the City’s Office of Black Community Engagement. We’re ready to celebrate all year long!