February has rolled around again which means it’s Black History Month and it’s time to learn about Black historical figures. Oftentimes, there is a small group of Black historical figures that are actually spoken about. During Black History Month, one may learn about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and maybe Harriet Tubman if they’re lucky. While all those people are massively important figures in history, they are not the only people that deserve a spotlight. There are Black people making important changes right now that deserve their flowers. Here are some current people making an impact on Black history right now:

Chanté Davis

Chanté Davis is an activist fighting against climate change. She is a lead organizer of the Sunrise Movement and is a part of the JEAO (Justice, Equity and Anti-Oppression). She teaches anti-racism and environmental injustice. She has led and been a part of multiple campaigns including a rally at the Texas capitol urging lawmakers to actually take action about the climate after the horrible winter storms. Climate change activism and racial justice may seem like two separate problems that aren’t connected when looking at it at face value, but they are actually quite intertwined. In this article Chanté explains “With the climate crisis, most of the people who are on the front lines who are getting it the worst are BIPOC, indigenous, low-income communities. This is connected to social issues because they were placed in, or were living in, areas that were gentrified. Or they were literally segregated and they grew up in usually unprotected areas when it comes to tornadoes and wildfires and snowstorms and hurricanes. So definitely by us achieving climate justice we’ll be able to achieve environmental justice.” Chanté has made changes already and hasn’t even reached the age of 20.

Quil Lemons

In 2017, Quil Lemons got popular for his photo series Glitterboy, unpacking and deconstructing black masculinity. Just four years later, he made history. Allure claims that Quil wished he could shoot for Lil Uzi, Frank Ocean, and Playboi Carti. While he never got to photograph them, Quil did get to photograph another extremely popular artist, Billie Eilish, making him the youngest photographer to shoot a Vanity Fair cover at the age of 23. In the time in between Glitterboy and the Vanity Fair cover, he was busy shooting people like Spike Lee, Chloe X Halle, and Young M.A. While he is not entirely a civil rights activist, he has still made history in the arts while openly making pieces about being black which is deserving of acknowledgment. 

Grace Moore

Grace Moore was 12 years old when the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performed her piece Summer as a part of their Very Young Composer program. Having music performed by one of the biggest orchestras at age 12 is already massively impressive, but what makes the piece even more impressive is the substance of the performance. Summer was created as a result of the events in 2020, namely the Coronavirus and BLM protest. In an interview with NPR, Grace said she wanted to compose something that would take listeners to a happier place. The piece reminds listeners of better days, such as the previous summer. It is 30 seconds of the summer in the midst of chaos. Hopefully she can continue to bring peace with her pieces, because the world is still chaotic.

Dasia Taylor

Dasia Taylor is a scientific genius who, in high school, created surgical stitches using beet juice that turn from bright red to purple to indicate when a wound has been infected. Dasia read about smart sutures that relay information about the surgical wound to doctors via smartphone. While those sutures are useful, they are far less available and applicable in developing countries. In Smithsonian Magazine, she said “…when I was presented with this opportunity to do research, I couldn’t help but go at it with an equity lens.” Clearly, the issue of equity is important to her, so much so, that she developed life-saving sutures that are more applicable for countries that are not fortunate enough to afford smart sutures.

Dasia, like every other black woman in science, faced strong racial discrimination on her way to becoming a scientist. She attended Clear Creek Amana High School in Tiffin, Iowa where she was discouraged from joining the science competition team. Later, Dasia ended up going to Iowa City West High, where she was able to practice science more freely. Hopefully, she can continue to do scientific research and make scientific experiments despite the pushback she receives.

These are less than a handful of Black people making history in their respective fields; there is a near infinite list of people that you can learn about. People making an impact in Black history didn’t end with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Black history is forever expanding. The only thing you need to do is learn. This Black History Month, learn about somebody you’ve never heard of, someone who is doing something right now, because while the classic figureheads like MLK, Rosa Parks, Malcom X, and Harriet Tubman deserve recognition, the people who are working hard and making changes now deserve recognition too.

Sources:

https://www.girlslife.com/trending/celebs/38295/meet-chante-davis-a-youth-climate-activist-and-champion-for-change

https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/young-black-americans-making-history-right-now

https://www.ecowatch.com/sunrise-movement-texas-2650722527.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2

https://www.allure.com/story/quil-lemons-glitterboy-makeup-hypermasculinity

https://www.diversityinc.com/10-modern-black-civil-rights-leaders-to-follow-today/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/

https://people.com/human-interest/iowa-teen-inspired-by-greys-anatomy-invents-stitches-that-change-color-when-infected/

https://www.blackpast.org/childrens-page/dasia-taylor-2004-childrens-edition/#:~:text=Taylor%20is%20best%20known%20for,show%20infection%20in%20a%20wound.

https://www.classicfm.com/artists/new-york-philharmonic/grace-moore-makes-history-youngest-composer/

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936567281/new-york-philharmonic-premieres-young-composers-summer