Col. Kenyon K. Bell
72nd Air Base Wing commander
This month we celebrate Black History Month. It was first observed by Presidential Proclamation in 1976. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association of the Study of Negro Life and History — now the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History — launched the celebration of Negro History Week in 1926.
Woodson saw that black people were widely absent from history books until about the 20th century and took on the challenge to write black Americans into the nation’s history. He needed to tell their story.
We’ve all heard of Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but there are countless other important African-Americans that made strides in their prospective fields and helped break down barriers. Just a handful of those individuals include, Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot; Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African-American woman physician; and Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American Congresswoman and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Have you ever had an idea or vision of something only to let it pass? What if those individuals had abandoned their ideas? Because of the brave men and women who came before us and were not afraid to stand up for what they thought was right, doors were opened and barriers breached so that others could benefit and strive forward.
Please reflect on that as we celebrate Black History Month.