Black History Month could be every month, though it was first recognized in 1976 and became a tradition in February when President Ford made an official designation.
There are so many good-to-know current voices and changemakers I could celebrate for Black History Month, but I am mentioning just a few who have touched me somehow. Some are local in the Tri-State area, and others are not.
There is an abundance of amazing content creators on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, and they share resources to educate, inspire, inform, entertain, engage, attract, convert, and more.
In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to highlight a few people I admire and other good-to-know resources.
If you have never read my article, Black Lives Matter: No One Should Have to Hide Who They Are on LinkedIn, you will learn that I am a descendant of the second Presidential family (Mrs. Adams) and the sixth President of the United States, John Quincey Adams.
The Adams were the only two Presidents out of the first twelve who did not enslave people. Aside from other items you might find interesting as you read my article, I was pleased to see that my research took another form after sharing my article with Marissa Matusiak.
In January, I volunteered for her organization called Raise Black Voices. If you check out their Instagram page, you see someone made a pictorial infographic and researched the first 18 Presidents. Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln did not enslave black people, nor did the two Adams.
I have probably learned more about black history on LinkedIn from Elizabeth Leiba than from anywhere else, so become one of her 160K followers and ring her bell if you want to see a constant flow of her excellent content in your feed and learn from her.
A current local Delaware history maker is Towanda Livingston, a fellow SCORE colleague. This lady is an absolute firehose of information, and I learned so much from her in her recent workshops on certifications for different socioeconomic groups. Towanda puts out so many resourceful posts that I keep saving the links as I can’t keep up with reading them fast enough.
Another couple of ladies I am proud to know on LinkedIn are Brandyn Campbell, a Chester County Antiracist Communications Consultant who has delivered several insightful presentations to my nonprofit organizations, and Dr. Sandra Donnay, who runs the New Jersey nonprofit called The Racial Equity Initiative.
Dr. Donnay joined my adult school LinkedIn workshop in 2020 with 36 connections and has grown to almost 8K connections from her work. I was honored to be her Zoom moderator for The Impact of Racism on Black Bodies: COVID-19 and Self-Care on MLK Day 2021 for the Biden-Harris Administration Program on Advancing Equity and Racial Justice.
Speaking of MLK, every year, I celebrate MLK Day with friends from Global Citizen 365, which organizes the largest MLK Day celebration in the nation. Get on the list if you would like to be a part of it next year. It has been mostly virtual, but pre-pandemic, Girard College hosted it. MLK spoke at Girard in August 1965.
If you are on TikTok, you might want to watch Makya Little’s commentary about what her children were learning in school about black history. As a former K-12 teacher, this video was disturbing to hear. We still have a long way to go to fix miseducation.
One thing you should learn about is the Crown Act. Know what it is and how you can make a difference.
Knowledge is power, so keep learning to be an individual who might be a changemaker, a voice, or an impetus to make a difference in the lives of all children who are learning history so we provide education and not miseducation.
Since I have not noted any men in this article, I have to give a shout-out to Dr. Orlando Taylor, who was a terrific boss. His current side gig is an awesome band called the OSP Experience, so check it out if you need talented musicians. Orlando helped me meet the credentials for my K-12 principal certification, and he made a difference in the lives of so many children in Pottstown, PA and elsewhere.
Another key influencer in my life is Dr. Philip Adu. Anybody and everybody working on a doctoral dissertation should follow him. Thank you for all the fantastic content you put out, as I have learned so much.
Cheers to all of you modern history-makers on LinkedIn and other social media! Thank you for all you do regarding social justice, education, and more.
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AUTHOR BIO
Lynne M. Williams is the Executive Director of the Great Careers Groups, a volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides career education and networking connections for 1) job seekers in career transition, including veterans, and 2) employed and self-employed for career management. She is also the President of ChemPharma.net and is on the leadership team of the Thought Leadership Branding Club.
Aside from writing keyword-focused content for ATS resumes and LinkedIn profiles, Lynne is currently writing her doctoral dissertation on LinkedIn for Job Seekers. She is a contributing author on “Applying to Positions” in Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing the Job You Love, along with the late Dick Bolles, the author of What Color is Your Parachute?, and is also a speaker on career topics.
This article is also published on: vista.today, montco.today, delco.today, bucksco.today, and in the author’s LinkedIn newsletter. A list of articles can also be found in a Google doc.
