Can you imagine the U.S. without prisons? Without immigration detention? Or gun-toting cops? Well, it might not be too hard to imagine – because it actually existed not too long ago! Wait, really? #PushBlack #BlackHistory
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We all know schools aren’t teaching Black history correctly. That’s why PushBlack is so important! Will you support truthful, accurate, empowering Black history content with a donation?
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On March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
As police officers dragged her from the bus, she shouted again, and again, “It’s my constitutional right.” She was jailed and charged with violating segregation laws, disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer. She pleaded not guilty, but was convicted.
Colvin’s act of protest happened 9 months before Rosa Parks famously sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, but Colvin’s age and lack of experience in the civil rights movement rendered her act of bravery and defiance all but forgotten in the telling of civil-rights history.
These 10 women are shaping their communities and, in their own way, altering life for everyone in 21st century America. Theirs are stories that deserve to be told.
We’ve been working on something special and are so excited to announce that we’re partnering with Tumblr to bring the best of Black excellence straight to your dashboard. How is this February different from the usual BHM celebrations? This time around, we won’t stop on the last day of February. We and Tumblr are committed to shining a light on the Black community throughout this entire year. This is #BlackExcellence365.
Our goal for #BlackExcellence365 is to the showcase the importance of diversity in Black history, present, and future. The Black community is not monolithic. It is a pan-African community, one consisting of a myriad of ethnic identities from African-American, African, Caribbean, Latinx, etc. Blackness encompasses different religions, sexual and gender identities, socioeconomic statuses, and more. Celebrating these identities and their successes is what #BlackExcellence365 is all about. We’ll be doing this by showcasing the continuous achievements of and contributions by Black people in history, science, music, art, media, social impact, fashion, gaming, poetry, and so many other areas of prominent cultural and historical importance.
Here’s a peek at just some of the things you can expect to see from @action (unless otherwise indicated!), Tumblr’s official blog for social impact:
February
2/4 — Artist Spotlight: Artist Jessica Spence - @jessmyart
2/25 — Artist Spotlight: Artist and Filmmaker Asaph Luccas - @asaphluccas
March
#BlackExcellence365 video series, a round-table discussion of important issues in the Black community. March’s theme is Black Girl Magic: The Importance of Black Women’s Work in the Media.
June
#BlackExcellence365 video series X #TheBlackout: Content & Conversations Surrounding the Black LGBTQ+ community
August
#BlackExcellence365 video series X #TheBlackout: Music in the Black Community
December
#BlackExcellence365 video series X #TheBlackout: Mental Health in Communities of Color
Are you ready? We’re ready. Stay tuned to @action - Tumblr’s official blog for social impact, for the latest news, features, and community highlights. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽
Oh, yeah. #BlackExcellence365 is here, and who better to help us usher it in than the people behind @theblackoutofficial? The Blackout has spent years cultivating a community of people who make it their mission to own their Blackness by redefining what Blackness means to them.
Be sure to follow both @theblackoutofficial and @action to stay on top of the latest #BlackExcellence365 news all year long.
PS, our Black History Month stickers are back!
Slap ‘em on your selfie, throw ‘em on your GIFs. They’re in the app right now, and so easy to use.
Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus for home. She took a seat in the first of several rows designated for “colored” passengers. But Montgomery bus drivers had adopted the custom of requiring black passengers to give up their seats to white passengers, when no other seats were available. When her bus was full, the driver asked four black passengers to give up their seats. Three complied, but Rosa refused and remained seated. Her refusal to surrender her seat spurred on a citywide boycott and helped launch nationwide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. In 1987, Parks founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. The organization runs “Pathways to Freedom” bus tours, introducing young people to important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout the country. She also published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography recounting her life in the segregated South, and Quiet Strength which includes her memoirs and focuses on the role that religious faith played throughout her life.
