It’s black history month and I wanted to do something a little interesting. Instead of the regular lists of important black people and their contributions that most people ignore—I wanted to change that narrative. Those folks are always highlighted in a way that felt othering, that their accomplishments were due to exceptionalism instead of a lineage of ingenuity from immense struggle. Struggle is one of the defining characteristics of Black America. It doesn’t make us righteous nor has it ever been right to be subjected to the tortures of our collective past and present, but this built a lot of what we are and how we move in the world. This year I wanted to reflect on what we’ve built, what that turned into, and how our work is not individual but of a collective whole and foundational to who we are as a people. 28 days is too little to talk about us, but for now, especially in February, every day matters. See you tomorrow. 🙏🏿