Black History and the Connection to the African Diaspora
Black History Month is an opportunity to acknowledge the past and honor the significant contributions and achievements of Black Americans across the African Diaspora, while also looking at the present and towards the future. Diaspora is when a population is scattered across regions that are separate from their geographic place of origin. Just as Africa is not just one society, Black history is not a monolith—it is a collective of traditions, stories, cultures, and peoples.
This incredible diversity within the Diaspora has led to the emergence of distinct but interconnected identities, including Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino/Latinx and Black or African American identities held by staff, volunteers, and youth at OYA. Though these identities have formed over the course of history, there are common threads throughout them such as innovation, creativity, resilience, societal and global influence, and dissemination of ideas through language, music, literature, myths, and art.
Black History Month originated from efforts to recognize the often-overlooked accomplishments of Black individuals and the central role they played in shaping society, including contributions from Afro-Carribbean and Afro-Latino/Afro-Latinx individuals. Here are a couple of resources to learn more:
Black Latinos Who Made US History and Impacted Popular Culture
The Caribbean Influence on America’s Black History – The 1930s to the 1970’s
Staff voices
Kim “Mack” McKandes, Multicultural Services Coordinator reflects on the power of learning more about his heritage
Let me start by saying, I love the fact that I am “Black and…”! I knew that I was African American and Borinquen (Puerto Rican), however after receiving my results from my Ancestry.com DNA test, I found that I’m Brazilian, Native American (Wampanoag), Haitian, Irish, and of course Taino (Native Puerto Rican) and African (Cameroonian, Nigerian, and South African/Zulu). The reason I make the statement of being “Black and…” and my love for this realization, is because it forced me to look at the history of the intersectionality of Africans and the various ethnicities.
Learning more of the Transatlantic slave trade, the African migration to Europe, Asia, and the America’s prior to the slave trade, and the ingenuity of Nubians from the Kemet region (Egypt) instilled in me more of a cultural pride, and an encouragement that I can do ANYTHING! I have a kinsmanship to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, the first settler of the city of Chicago; Crispus Attucks, the first notable African Indigenous icon in the anti-slavery movement and the first casualty of the Boston Massacre; Roberto Clemente, the first Afro-Latino drafted into Major League Baseball and a huge philanthropist; and Erica Malunguinho, activist and the first LGBTQ+ Lawmaker of African and Brazilian descent.
To quote Ta-Nehisi Coates, when speaking of ethnic intersectionality and the Black diaspora “I marveled at the bonds between us…an entire world of our own…to be a part of that world, I felt even then, was to be in on a secret, a secret that was in you.” I’m SO grateful that that secret world that has always been within me has been extracted!
Angelo Worley, Youth Services Coordinator reflects on his connection to Black History Month
I’m from Southern California with ties to Arizona, and now, Oregon. Existence as a Black man has meant something different, yet familiar, in each space. Staying authentic in how I show up has been the most powerful tool in connecting with youth and doing my job well at OYA – unapologetically me; unapologetically Black.
OIIR Celebrations of Black History
OYA’s Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR) has hosted a number of community building and cultural connection events at MacLaren YCF, Tillamook YCF and Camp Tillamook, Oak Creek YCF, Eastern Oregon YCF, and Rogue YCF, and Camp Florence, with an additional intersectional Black History and Women’s History Month event at Oak Creek YCF planned for March.
As part of the events, facilities have been experiencing Dennis Carline’s mobile history museum that allows youth to see, read and touch something from bygone times and experiences with Black history in order to bridge the generation gap and bring parts of history to the present.
Mack McKandes also hosted an event at Rogue YCF with music, performances, and an inspirational message from Carl Thomas, Executive Director of Project Youth +.
Angelo Worley used community resources to organize West African Drumming and youth presentations on historical figures for youth at Eastern Oregon YCF.
And this month, as always, we recognize the history of systemic racism that has caused Black youth to be overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. OYA embraces a developmental approach to encourage healing, learning of life skills, and foster the opportunity for youth to build a better future.
While Black History Month provides a reason to center the contributions past and present of Black people, we can continue to celebrate it year-round as a practice that leads to a more equitable society for everyone.