Every February, the United States celebrates Black History Month. But in recent years, the celebration might have felt a bit different.

On January 31, 2025, the Department of Defense announced it would no longer use official resources to celebrate cultural awareness months, including Black History Month, which began the following day. That announcement came after the Trump administration's rollback of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives within the federal government.

This hour, we listen back to our conversation with a panel of experts talking about Black History Month and what it means today.

GUESTS:

• Kevin Gaines: Julian Bond Professor of Civil Rights and Social Justice and former Interim Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia.

• Christina Greer: Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University

• Michael Harriot: founder of ContrabandCamp and bestselling author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America.

In this episode, the guests mention several Black Americans who have made an impact on U.S. history. Here are some of the names if you want to learn more:

Ella Baker, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver, James Chaney, Septima Clark, John Henrik Clarke, David Dennis Sr, Fannie Lou Hamer, Steven Henson, bell hooks, Barbara Jordan, Garrett Morgan, Constance Baker Motley, Gloria Naylor, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Gloria Richardson, Amelia Boynton Robinson, Jo Ann Robinson, Cleveland Sellers, Robert Smalls, the students in the court case Edwards v. South Carolina, Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Special thanks to our former interns Angelica Gajewski and Kathy Wang.

This episode originally aired on February 28, 2025.