Since 1926, America has celebrated Black History Month every year with support and love for the Black community. Great and exciting events are hosted throughout the month to commemorate inspiring Black icons in the community such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Muhammad Ali, etc.

This month is very special because I feel it’s a time to show society the hardships that black people have struggled through for the past 240 years.

Many of those struggles for black people include slavery, racial discrimination, hate crimes, murders, and the oppression. These horrific events that took place also were the fuel that Black people needed to stand up for themselves and fight back.

Organizations such as the Black Panthers, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were created to support the black community in its time of need during the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement involved years of peaceful protest and physical abuse endured by the Black community. Many of the acts that took place during the Civil Rights Movement include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which occurred after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, which was required by law then.

Another act committed by the Black community was sit-ins. Sit-ins were done because racially segregated restaurants didn’t allow “colored” people. Large groups of Blacks would go to these restaurants and sit there, they wouldn’t order food or any drinks they would sit inside the restaurant and refuse to leave. These people endured brutal beatings during sit-ins until they were arrested.