Washington, DC— To mark the start Black History Month honoring the historic past and present contributions of African Americans, People For the American Way President Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“Black History Month is a time for all of us to recognize and honor the phenomenal contributions from African Americans to our culture, politics, the arts, and so much more, and this year is no different. This Black History Month, our country is on the brink of witnessing another historic milestone with the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. This is a deeply significant nomination, and as we lean into the pending victory, we must also continue the battle against the far-right efforts to whitewash our history and suppress our voices with some of the most racist, anti-voter, anti-education campaigns we’ve seen in decades. Dozens of states have passed laws that restrict Black and brown voters’ rights, and now the Right has a renewed zeal for book-banning focusing on books with racial and/or gender-related themes. These are real efforts to block teachings about the legacy of racism that is baked into our country’s legal, economic, educational, and cultural institutions.

“Despite the far-right attempts to steal our joy, we have a promising future. Black History is American history. We, as a country, have come too far to turn back now and we expect Black History Month 2022 to be as rich as our past and our future.”

About People For the American Way

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. Learn more:https://www.pfaw.org.