Black History Month: Standing Firm in Power and Pride

Black History Month is a time to celebrate and consider the resiliency and power of Black people across the globe. Year in and year out, we should have an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the persistent strength, resilience, and countless contributions that Black people all over the world continue to make. This year, ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’ is particularly meaningful to me as a Sierra Leonean; it holds special significance because it celebrates the people and spirit of my native land, our nation, and across the continent of Africa.

I am steeped in my internal history, led by an inheritance that spans generations behind me, one that I believe has helped to integrate the black experience, not just in Sierra Leone, but more widely. To me, this is more than a theme celebrating success; it’s an acceptance and appreciation of the harsh injustices, sacrifices, and, yes, survival that brought us to this point and shape my Sierra Leonean identity, as well as my place within the broader global Black community.

For many Sierra Leoneans, resilience is not something strange; it is a way of life. Our story, one of beauty and tragedy alike, is a tale of resilience clawed out from decades of colonialism, civil war, and generations of systemic disempowerment. As a nation founded by formerly enslaved people in the late 18th century, Sierra Leone has tales of those who found freedom and helped build a nation. And yet, with such a tangled history, we have survived.

The smallest is the fact that Sierra Leoneans have already seen, and survived, one bloody war that descended on the country in the 1990s. It was a time of unimaginable grief, but also one of incredible solidarity, healing, and renewal. Sierra Leoneans emerged from the wreckage, people who had survived the conflict and defiantly chose hope over despair, unity over divisiveness. And this ability to hang tough in the face of those unfathomable odds is the essence of standing in power and pride.

As a West African country, Sierra Leone also falls within this larger tapestry. We are part of a continent that is, it must be said, the birthplace of some of the world’s great cultural, intellectual, and revolutionary ideas that have helped to illuminate humanity’s progress. Consider the influence of leaders who championed Pan-Africanism, such as Kwame Nkrumah, whose vision for unity and freedom resonated across Africa, or movements in this country and the Caribbean, including the Black Power Movement.

During Black History Month, I remind myself that the source of strength of black people is not confined to a single country, such as mine. The final goal is global, woven into the narratives of those struggling in the Caribbean, America, and Brazil, and at every point on earth, history unfolded as Africa’s children stood their ground and demanded an equality they had so long been denied. We are strong in power and pride. Standing Firm aims to acknowledge the strength of many, on oceans and across continents, and retention should be dedicated to a background replete with surviving colonial patriarchy.

Pride is a big part of the theme this year, and it’s something I take very seriously. Far too often, the history of Black people, and even more the Africans among them, has been reduced to a story of slavery, colonialism, and poverty. But there is so much more to who we are and where we are from.

We Sierra Leoneans respect our culture and tradition; we are indeed resilient. “Our dances, our spoken phrases, our music, and that community togetherness, you can’t take a Sierra Leonean out of anyone.” Then, for some of us, we have the benefit of inheriting a base of absolute strength, pride, and a sense of self-confidence that could not be broken because our ancestors continued to struggle through slavery and colonization.

As I ponder the theme, what’s coming through is how crucial it is for us as Black people to not just acknowledge the challenges we face, but also to acknowledge the moments of brilliance, creativity, and sheer tenacity that have always existed within us. In art, in activism, in everyday acts of kindness and resistance like these (which are vital for our own sakes, but also because the next generation, who will be looking back at everyone and everything we do with both courage and might to shape a home under).

Looking ahead, as I reflect on what this Black History Month and the theme mean to me as a Sierra Leonean, “the importance of standing in that power and pride transcends paying homage to our past in black history; instead, it is looking at our past through the lens, which we will dominate the future.” It’s about standing in solidarity, lifting up our communities, and demanding justice and equality for not only ourselves but all those Black people across the world.

This is our history; this is our future. And as we celebrate Black History Month, let’s stand resolute in our collective power and pride, knowing that it is through our strength, unity, and values that we will build a better future.