This is part of The Shadow League’s yearly Black History Month In Focus series celebrating Black excellence in sports and culture.
We have long agonized over Black History Month. Though intended to be used as a tool to help educate black people to their own magnificent history, the manner in which the information is often presented causes some of the very same people who should be celebrating the month to isolate themselves from it.
For many, the history that is presented to Americans of African descent as our own is often watered down, has a noticeable male slant or is juxtaposed against the present as a measure to how far we have come as a country. All of the aforementioned qualities are misleading at best.
Today, we start off the month with our Black History Month in Focus series of editorials to highlight our history. The word history causes the mind to envision heroines and heroes of yesteryear. However, history happens everyday. It is a continuous, cosmic beach upon which we all leave our footprints. Today, were not hearkening back to the long days of yesteryear for inspiration.
Heres our list of the top 15 black folks to make history in 2017.
