Honouring yesterday heroes, tomorrow’s leaders in Black History Month

It is another February. It’s another month for the celebration of Black people all over the world. The month is set apart for the acknowledgement and celebration of what it means to be Black.

Over the years, Black History Month has been a commemorative programme in honour of the black culture and a response to miseducation and second slavery.

Beyond the celebration, it is also a medium of expression that guarantees pride and honour for the African race following the African understanding of self and nature.

This celebration began in the United States of America 93 years ago, in 1926, by renowned African American scholar, Dr. Carter G. Woodson.

The event afforded Africans and people of African descent to re-enact their struggles and ultimate victory over the negative forces of oppression and man’s inhumanity to man.

The primal purpose of the celebration is to expose the harms of miseducation and to cultivate self-esteem following centuries of socio-economic oppression. It is also an opportunity to recognise significant contributions to society made by people with African heritage.

The yearly event is also celebrated to mark the coming of age of the Black race and to honour the history of its collective heritage as expressing through art, culture and spiritual exegesis.

The celebration has been established to accomplish a number of objectives. They include:
• To ensure the revival, resurgence, propagation and promotion of Black and African culture and black cultural values and civilisation;

• to present Black and African culture in its highest and widest conception;

• to bring to light the diverse contributions of Black and African peoples to the universal currents of thoughts and arts;

• to promote Black and African artists, performers and writers and facilitate their world acceptance and their access to world outlets;

• to promote better international and interracial understanding; and

• to facilitate a periodic ‘return to origin’ in Africa by Black artists, peoples, writers and performers uprooted to other continents.

This edition promises to be a profound event with a medley of songs, dance, poetry, lectures, art exhibition, drum ensemble, Alarinjo (Mobile Theater) and other performance activities designed to express the year’s theme: Honouring Yesterday Heroes And Tomorrow’s Leaders.

Already, as part of activities to celebrate the month, President, Worldwide Oodua Peoples Congress, Prince Osibote Oodua, paid a solidarity visit to the New Afrika Shrine on Sunday, February 3 and was welcomed by the scion Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti and Yeni Anikulapo Kuti.

The sustainable development of Africa and Yoruba was clinically dissected and reaffirmed. It was indeed a moment of celebration and reflection.