As Black History month begins, let’s look back on how far we’ve come.

We came from “White Only” signs to all races sitting in the same room. We came from African-American students sitting in the back of the classroom to having the privilege to sit wherever.

However, there is still racism in society today.

Today we face police brutality, saying the “N” word like it’s a normal phrase, and many more. Like the late and forever great Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only Love can do that.” We ask ourselves, how can we do that?

Let’s start by knowing each other, rather by color. We can look at diversity like a painting on a wall, with interest and pleasure.

As one nation, we must learn to stick together and work together. So, how do we define black history? We define it as a reminder. A reminder that hate doesn’t win every time. A reminder of people willing to reach out to make a difference. As President Barack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”