Happy Black History Month!

Everyone knows about the Black History legends such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, Jr., Rosa Park, and the Little Rock 9. But there were so many other African Americans that helped excel our culture in society, such as George M. Pullman, Garrett Morgan, and Stokely Carmichael. African Americans have provided a myriad of contributions, since their involuntary immigration to the United States. However, our portrayal in society has only highlighted and exacerbated certain prejudiced stereotypes.

With this series, I hope to shed new light on the achievements and positive contributions, people I know, are doing on a daily basis. Black history is not just about what African Americans have done in the past, it is about celebrating what they are doing now, and allowing the future generation to experience new possibilities.

---

Geoffrey Dudley

I met Geoffrey when I was on summer break during college. A PK (Pastor’s Kid) coming into his own as a rising Young Adult Pastor, Geoff has a gift from God and is not afraid to use it. His vision is to equip and inspire change in this generation, in order to create impact players that will affect change in their communities and abroad. If you are in the St. Louis area, he will be featured in the PK Roundtable, later this month. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite. You can also check him out on Instagram: @GVDII | Twitter: @IREACTNow | Facebook: Geoffrey V. Dudley

Ifunanya Nwanonyiri

Ifunanya and I met in college. She was really bold and successful in raising cultural awareness on a majority white campus. Flash forward to 2018, where she created Ọjị Abịala: An Igbo Podcast, she is continuing to increase cultural awareness. In her podcast, she takes an innovative approach towards learning and teaching the Igbo language, in a way that is easy for non-native speakers to learn. Her podcast hopes to preserve the Igbo culture, as it is threatened by westernization and the impacts of colonialism in Nigeria. You can follow her and her podcast on Facebook: @igbopodcast | Soundcloud: Igbo Podcast | Podcast app (found in Itunes): Igbo Podcast

Jonathan Walker, Sr.

Not only is Jonathan Walker, Sr. my uncle, he is also an author, business owner, patent holder, and a military veteran. His passion for engineering combined with the purpose to remember Black history, enabled him to publish “Granville Taylor Woods – The First Black American Who Was Granted Forty-Nine Patents.” Since then, he has published a bilingual children’s book, titled “Nathan the Extraordinary Inventor.” You can find his first book on his website, here, and his children’s book on Amazon. He is currently working on a theatre play and movie script about Granville Taylor Woods, so make sure to keep an eye out for them in the future.

---

Thank you everyone for reading the first installment of my Shedding Light series this month. I hope you enjoyed reading about different individuals that are doing some pretty amazing things in our society. Please follow them on their social media accounts and show them love for all that they are doing. And one more thing, share this post,so that they can see how Black people are preserving their culture and creating new possibilities for the future generation.

Love,

Britt ♥