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The 'BlacKkKlansman' actor created a Black History Month-inspired playlist for Apple Music in 2019, explaining: "Music serves as a mechanism that initiates the purest sense of self and self-discovery and experiences of escapism."
While accepting the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 'BlacKkKlansman,' Lee acknowledged Black History Month, which he noted was the shortest month of the year, and championed his own hero: his grandmother, who put him through school.
The actress wrote an essay for Time in 2019 celebrating two of her idols: opera singers Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, who broke color barriers in the operatic world. Cox wrote that the richness of black culture that persisted through slavery is why she remains optimistic.
The Oscar winner curated a Black History Month-inspired playlist for Apple Music, which featured songs that helped him get into the characters of other black men, and which contributed to his "exploration of the diverse and beautifully complex black identity."
The actress and creator of 'The Chi' wrote an essay for Time in 2019 on the "black renaissance" of Hollywood, celebrating those "trying to rip up what it means to be black and successful in Hollywood and rebuild it afresh," but adding how much further the industry still has to go.
Obama's recommendation lists are highly regarded, so when he released his non-fiction reading list in honor of Black History Month, it was predictably filled with gems, from James Baldwin to Isabel Wilkerson.
At the beginning of Black History Month in 2019, the actress revealed on Instagram that she would buy out an entire Mississippi theater for underprivileged youth to view 'Black Panther,' "to ensure that all our brown children can see themselves as a superhero."
See also: 'Blade,' 'Black Panther,' and a brief history of black superheroes.
The actress took to Instagram to commemorate Black History Month with a quote from legendary author Maya Angelou: "The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are."
The writer and illustrator kicked off what she called "the most magical time of the year" by drawing Aaron Douglas, a "leading artist of the Harlem Renaissance" who developed an iconic graphic style that helped redefine how black people could imagine themselves.
The founder, president, and CEO of FUBU, who appears as an investor on the reality television series 'Shark Tank,' tweeted that the greats like "Rosa, Martin, Thurgood, Frederick, Maya, Harriet, Malcolm, Barack, Jackie," should be celebrated every day.
The veteran actor famously said he didn't want a Black History Month because black history is American history.
In 2014 after Stacey Dash said BET and Black History Month should be eliminated, Union told the Associated Press that separate honors are only created when you don't see yourself reflected in the mainstream. "The more that we focus on inclusion and a true representation of this country, I think that crazy lady will have less to say."
At Macy's 2018 Black History Month event, the actress/writer/director emphasized that the celebration goes on all 365 days of the year. She also spoke about the next step after getting black stories heard, which is sharing stories that "aren't limited to one specific black experience," so including LGBTQ or continental stories, for example.
The famed actor gave a speech at Harvard-Westlake School's Black History Month Assembly in 2013, inspiring a huge number of young black people with lessons about his past, from civil rights activism, to addiction, to how he found success.
Hollywood has been notoriously slow in the move towards equality, and sometimes it can seem like for every step forward, there’s two steps back. But with momentum gaining in the mainstream, Black History Month has become ever more important as part of the proven success of representation—feeling seen and heard, and rightfully awarded.
That’s why so many black celebrities have joined in the conversation about this (sometimes controversial) month, sharing their own ways of celebrating black excellence from past, present, and even future. Click through to see what celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and Rihanna have said, shared, and celebrated as part of Black History Months past.
How stars celebrate Black History Month
Their tributes, personal heroes, and cultural contributions
CELEBRITY Hollywood
Hollywood has been notoriously slow in the move towards equality, and sometimes it can seem like for every step forward, there’s two steps back. But with momentum gaining in the mainstream, Black History Month has become ever more important as part of the proven success of representation—feeling seen and heard, and rightfully awarded.
That’s why so many black celebrities have joined in the conversation about this (sometimes controversial) month, sharing their own ways of celebrating black excellence from past, present, and even future. Click through to see what celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and Rihanna have said, shared, and celebrated as part of Black History Months past.