Celebrating Black History Month & More
February 11, 2021
Black History Month is a time to celebrate influential leaders and impactful moments of the past. But celebrating Black history is not enough. Pocono Mountains United Way continues to work toward a future where Black Americans have the same access to employment, education, health care and housing as their white neighbors.
As part of that work, below we highlight an important moment from Black history that aligns with our focus areas of health, education, and financial stability, outline a few current challenges faced by Black Americans, and explain what we are doing to help solve these problems.
Moment in History
April 23, 1951: 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns leads a strike to protest segregation and poor conditions at her Virginia high school. Her leadership inspires local lawyers to sue the federal government, a case that eventually becomes part of the landmark Brown v. Board decision.
Current Challenges
The Supreme Court ruled school segregation was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. But segregation in public schools has only risen since 1996. This kind of structural racism along with institutional racism has hurt the educational outcomes of Black students.
We established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, that works to support students of color in our community. With partners, we have successfully offered Cultural Competency training sessions, that community members, law enforcement and business leaders attended. The training sessions foster courageous conversations around race, including implicit biases and microaggressions.
Our work includes:
You can be a part of this important work in Monroe County and celebrate Black History. You can demonstrate your commitment to diversity and inclusion by using the email sign up on this page to learn how you can give, advocate or volunteer to ensure that every single person, no matter their race, can thrive in our community.
To learn more about our DEI work, or sign on as a partner on the path to racial equity, please contact Michael@PoconoUnitedWay.org