Black Resistance At Work

By Kamali-Ann Burke , Vice President

The theme for Black History Month 2023 is appropriately “Black Resistance.” This concept explores how Black people have resisted historic and ongoing oppression in all forms since they were first enslaved in this country.

This year, Black History Month has been fraught with peril. The month began with the funeral for Tyre Nichols, a man who was murdered by five Memphis police officers; it was followed by several other state-sanctioned attacks that did not make national headlines. It continued with the removal of prolific writers and creatives from the College Board’s AP African American studies class, part of a crusade by lawmakers to whitewash courses and remove diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from Florida’s education institutions.

No issue is more important to me than racial and economic justice, particularly in the education system. But instead of truly improving these systems, many elected officials are growing their political power by pedaling racism, white supremacy, homophobia and hate.

As a native Floridian, a former educator and a mom raising a beautiful Black boy, I choose to resist in the best way I know how — using strategic communications to call others in to build a calculated counter effort against anti-blackness. Resistance looks like supporting the work of clients such as The Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University, Black Voters Matter and Color of Change.

I am honored that my op-ed on the collective organizing needed to combat censorship and erasure was featured in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. My plea is for parents, community leaders, foundations, advocacy groups, racial justice organizations and grassroots organizers — who are committed to ensuring our public school systems truly educate our children — to come together, stand up, raise our voices in the streets and the voting booths and invest in solutions to safeguard our democracy.

If you are someone interested in leading this charge, Fenton has developed a concept paper of strategies and ideas to push this critical work forward.

In this dire moment, my hope is we will look back on this and see that together we were able to make real change possible.

To learn more about Fenton’s education, families and youth development work please contact Kamali Burke, [email protected]. You can also drop us a line here.