KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) selects a theme for Black History Month.
The 2023 theme Black Resistance highlights “institutions and affiliations [that] they lobbied, argued, legislated, protested and achieved success.”
To resist means to refuse to conform, to challenge the system.
“By resisting, blacks have achieved triumphs, successes, and progress as seen in the end of chattel slavery, the desegregation of Jim and Jane Crow in the South, increased political representation at all levels of government, the desegregation of educational institutions, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, and an increased and diverse representation of black experiences in the media,” according to ASALH.
The association says the significant and lasting change created through actions such as protests, faith, education, healthcare, sports, music and politics “cannot be underestimated”.
And while individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, Jackie Robinson, Carter G. Woodson, and Billie Holiday are well known for the resistance they inspired, community members in the Kansas City area have been equally influential.
To celebrate what black resistance means to the community, KSHB 41 is asking KC to share their definitions during Black History Month. To enter, film a response about what black resistance means to you and submit it ONLINE HERE.
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