How will I contribute to history?
By JoAnne Sabir, American Family Insurance Inclusive Excellence Advisor
The greater American family is a mixture of contributions from descendants of varying countries.
With so much movement in the world and so much to learn about the creation of civilizations and their subsequent impact on life as we know it today, Black History Month is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the contributions of Black Americans whose passion and creativity has contributed to life as we know it in the United States.
In a society that changes slowly, the month of February is an opportunity to focus attention on a cultural influence that has created paths for our country and around the world.
While overhauling educational curriculums to give a greater depth to the story of Black Americans’ experiences would be ideal, consciously deciding to uplift the month plays a higher purpose in acknowledging the role Black Americans have played.
During the month, we have a moment to breathe in the excellence transpiring daily that continues to create history. I love finding out new stories and new legacies that provide a sense of possibility for all. In the previous decade, the celebration of Black History Month took an exciting turn as everyone is now looking for unheard, yet significant, history.
Black history brings to life for me the ongoing opportunity to be a part of critical history in the making. This month of celebration always challenges me to think deeply about how I am able to contribute to such an impactful legacy. How will I contribute to history?
What I know for sure is the work American Family Insurance is advancing in Milwaukee with the development of our new office in the Mandel Building on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and our Milwaukee initiative as a whole, creates a great pathway to a tremendous legacy anchored literally and figuratively on MLK — his dream and now his street. While his messages were vast and impactful, one quote that stands out is, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Adjacent to American Family’s future Milwaukee home is Vel R. Phillips Ave. Vel is known for being the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Law School; the first African American, as well as the first woman, elected alderwoman to the Milwaukee Common Council; and the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve as a judge in Wisconsin. Mrs. Phillips is known for asking, “What did you do today that was good?” (You can learn more about Vel here.)
As a Black woman, my small role to advance the aforementioned collaborative, impactful community and corporate partnerships will be a significant part of my life and rest on the shoulders of such historians as Vel Phillips and others like Rosa Parks, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Madame C.J. Walker, Henrietta Lacks, and many more.
It is an honor to celebrate Black History Month and to be a part of Black history in the making! As a mother of three, creating the space for shared grounding in a cultural awareness of self and ancestral traditions is a fuel that never runs out.
Past and present history, and history in the making contributes to the totality of the whole. To that I say leverage the advancements of society (cellphones and internet) and search for contributions of Black Americans in any and every industry.
This month, please take a moment and be childlike and curious in your exploration and get to know the stories of those who had impact on how we live today. We are all one American family. In the words of Desmond Tutu, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
