Greetings I AM STEM Family,
Happy Black History Month!
As the end of February approaches, the theme of this month was resistance. Throughout history we have seen that people from marginalized groups have resisted against oppression and institutional racism forever.
• The enslaved people of Haiti RESISTED the institution of slavery and French colonists by burning down plantations and rebelling for their rights and freedoms.
• Sylvia Mendez RESISTED school segregation by having her parents sue for her right to a quality education, setting the precedent for the Brown v. Board of Education decision and school integration.
• The enslaved people of Brazil RESISTED the institution of slavery and
Portuguese colonists by training and learning capoeira and fleeing to quilombos.
• HBCUs and Historically Latinx Colleges and Universities RESISTED school segregation by creating higher education institutions that admitted everyone upon opening, and developed coursework with the African American and Latin American student in mind.
• Jamaican migrants in Panama RESISTED against racism and bias to create a sound that influenced a genre of music that has changed the world with reggaeton. I say all of this to say, no one is too big or (or in Sylvia’s case) too small to resist. Resistance does not only mean you are at protest each day, or shouting a mantra that you identify with. It is much more than that.
RESIST by continuing your education through college, graduate school and beyond.
RESIST by registering to vote when you become of age and actively voting in all elections.
RESIST by navigating institutions that have been constructed for you to not see the greatness that I see in you.
Each of you matter, and your individuality makes your family, your community and the world a greater place.
Keep reading, keep analyzing, keep questioning.
Tynslei Spence-Mitchell
Doctoral Student, Public Administration
West Chester University
