Why I love Black History Month

“The way Black communities have endured, adapted, and thrived despite generations of oppression is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a strength that carries us forward every single day.”

I love Black History Month. A full month to celebrate not only the history of my Black ancestors but also an annual moment to celebrate all levels of Black culture: past, present, and future. On this, the last day of Black History Month 2026, I want to share the top 3 things I love most about Black culture.

1.    African Diaspora

Shared History and Heritage (The Diaspora) A shared sense of identity and political solidarity that links Black people across the globe, emphasizing unity and mutual support. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is the primary reason for the dispersal of Black people throughout America and Europe. Despite being separated by geography, many in the diaspora share cultural, linguistic, and musical roots stemming from West and Central Africa.

To this day, Black people around the world remain linked through a vast, multifaceted, and ever-evolving network. This connection is maintained through shared history, culture, social movements, and an unexplainable similarity in how they navigate the world. Black folks are also increasingly connected through digital communication, the internet, and social media.

Examples of this are how New Zealand Black Comedian Joe Daymond came to the United States and was welcomed by “cousins” and “aunties” who completely embraced him as one of their own and even helped him with Black American culture. And who can forget the Scottish Black Fitness trainer, Torgi Squire, who not only looks like the Black American actor Sterling K. Brown but also opened our eyes to the Black population in Scotland.

2.   Sense of Humor

The way Black folks find humor in every moment, even when it might be deemed inappropriate, is quite remarkable. Laughter and joy are a cornerstone of Black culture in all situations. Knowing that a cousin, co-worker, or friend could ignite a fit of laughter at exactly the wrong minute is quite legendary. And while it may seem like that isn’t something to love about a culture, it is how Black folks have coped and survived for hundreds of years.

Okay, so let’s go deeper, because this sounds like I like laughing at other people’s pain. That isn’t the case. The use of humor by Black folks to navigate, critique, and find joy in everyday life, especially in the context of systemic racism, discrimination, and mundane situations, is a form of resilience that has been extensively studied in sociology, psychology, and African American studies.

Here are some Key Findings:

• Coping and Survival: Scholars have noted that Black Americans have used humor to cope.  Historians like Lawrence Levine documented that the illogical, traumatic, and utterly ridiculous nature of Jim Crow laws shaped a resilient and distinct tradition of Black American humor. This humor helped release tension, maintain calmness, and find hope and camaraderie in desperate circumstances.

• Critique of Systems: Black folks’ use of humor often functions as a communication strategy for resistance. Using laughter to make judgments about material conditions, mock oppressors, and challenge systemic inequities, Black folks’ humor is more profound than just laughing at an inappropriate moment. We see this most clearly on social media in places deemed as "Black Twitter" and “Black Tok” that critique systemic racism and political leaders. Black folks’ humor on social media often deconstructs serious political moments. Some studies have even pointed to a direct connection between Black Twitter and candidate polling.

• Internal Community Building: Humor fosters solidarity, strengthens racial identity, and cultivates defiance. It often includes inside jokes that allow for honest, often cathartic, shared experiences.

3. Culture

Black culture has been influential in every aspect of global culture. Black folks have made major contributions to literature, music, visual art, media, politics, science, business, cuisine and much more. Black culture has been copied in many forms, but most notably in the musical arena, such as jazz, rock and roll, and hip-hop, and by the way, they are among the most successful cultural exports.

But what I love most about Black culture is all the ways joy shows up:

• Music:  In the music that speaks to every moment of life, whether it is the sweet soulful crooning of Anita Baker’s “Angel” or Whitney’s pop hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. Or the way Black folks sing Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday that he wrote for Martin Luther King Jr. Black musicians have changed the world and how we consume joy through the speakers.

• Food: A distinct culinary tradition rooted in history. Asking who made the potato salad. And know that mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and cornbread, with the use (and some might say, overuse) of seasoning, are staples at all gatherings.

• Language and Vernacular: African American Vernacular English (AAVE), which has unique vocabulary, grammar, and rhetorical styles. Or how Black women compliment by saying the thing that they like. For example: okay shoes! 

• Blue Magic Hair Grease: A staple in Black households, Blue Magic (particularly the Coconut Oil formula) became essential for moisturizing and grooming natural hair and maintaining scalp health, helping keep styles like braids and Afros manageable. But, it is back! More Black women than ever are back to using Blue Magic for their hair care. 

The way Black communities have endured, adapted, and thrived despite generations of oppression is nothing short of remarkable. It’s a strength that carries us forward every single day.

From music and art to storytelling, fashion, and innovation, Black culture continually shapes the world with brilliance, originality, and joy.

The way we lift each other up, share knowledge, and create spaces for one another to grow reminds me that connection is everything.

Black History Month may be ending, but honoring, celebrating, and learning from Black culture is something we can and should carry every day. Let’s take the lessons, the pride, and, of course, the joy with us into the rest of the year and continue to show up for one another, unapologetically.