I have often reflected on the meaning and motive behind the annual celebration of Black History Month. While I acknowledge that the intent may be noble, to recognise the struggles, resilience, and achievements of people of African descent, I cannot help but perceive it as another subtle attempt to reemphasise, or perhaps reinvent, the notion of racial inferiority that humanity has long sought to bury.
I thought that the dark era of the transatlantic slave trade and the dehumanisation of fellow human beings based on skin colour, class, or perceived superiority had been confined to the pages of history. I believed that modern civilisation, education, and global enlightenment had moved us beyond such mental and psychological bondage. Yet, year after year, the world sets aside a month to remind us that one race still needs to be celebrated differently, a practice that, in my opinion, continues to reinforce the very walls of division we claim to have dismantled.
While others are content to live their humanity without periodic validation, the black race is continually subjected to a symbolic commemoration, as though our existence and relevance require annual reaffirmation. This, to me, is not true empowerment. It is a form of institutionalised remembrance that subtly immortalises the pain and mental slavery our ancestors endured.
True freedom, I believe, lies not in the remembrance of chains but in the conscious refusal to let those chains define us. Our greatness as black people should not be celebrated only within the confined calendar of a month; it should be lived, demonstrated, and integrated daily into the fabric of global excellence and human achievement.
The black man’s value does not need the endorsement of a season or the sanction of a festival. We have long proven our worth in science, art, politics, sports, and culture across generations and continents. Therefore, while I respect the historical significance of Black History Month, I also challenge its continued necessity in a world that must now embrace equality not as an annual event, but as a perpetual reality.
This is my conviction and my opinion, as a man who believes that the emancipation of the black mind must go beyond ceremonial remembrance to a state of permanent self-assertion, confidence, and global integration.
I am **Darlington Okpebholo Ray**, and my titles remain with me.
Deacon Darlington Okpebholo Ray, a Fellow of the British College of Journalism, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Truth Live News International, Sociopolitical Activist writes from London, England.