Rallying Beyond the 28th (Making “Leaps” Beyond the 29th)
Posted on Mar. 2, 2023 / DEIC / Subscribe 0
In 1915, half a century after the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the US, a historian founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which began sponsoring a national week of recognition in 1926. They chose the second week of February as it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Communities, organizations, and schools started celebrating and President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976. This has been and is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across US history and society. There are many ways to celebrate Black History Month: Support black owned businesses (https://www.miiriya.com/), learn about noteworthy black figures and their contributions (https://www.blackpast.org/), and donate to charities that support anti-racism equity and equality (https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/335). Our institutions have finished out the month with another round of successful Black History month programming, and we are sure yours have as well. As anatomy educators, it’s important to increase representation of all skin tones in lectures as it provides a more accurate depiction of the world’s diversity and promotes inclusivity in our classrooms. A recent review of general medicine textbooks estimated that 4.5% of all images illustrated individuals with dark skin. Nigerian medical student and illustrator Chidiebere Ibe is helping change this! See the USA Today article below regarding advocating for and creating inclusive medical literature. We invite you to join the EAC not just in the spirit and mindfulness of Black History Month but also with ever-present awareness continuously moving forward) in completing a thorough investigation of the images in your lectures. Can our materials be more inclusive of all skin tones? And can we honor the contributions of Black and African American people to the world not only during the month of February but also during every month of the year, including this month, now? Let’s continue “marching” forward in the spirit of inclusion and solidarity as we celebrate our Black and African American friends and colleagues and become better for having meaningful interactions and professional relationships with them. If you identify as Black or African American, we on the AACA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee would love to acknowledge you. Please feel free to respond with your name, position/title, affiliation, and any honors/awards or interesting facts about yourself. We thoroughly appreciate the diversity you bring to our organization.
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