Alice Marie Johnson’s reflection on Black History Month
As we reflect on Black History Month and how far we’ve come as a nation, it’s clear that there’s still more work to be done. Stand Together criminal justice reform advocate, Alice Marie Johnson, shared the following reflection to mark this year’s Black History Month:
“Many heroes of the Civil Rights movement were making history in one way or another right as I was born in Jim Crow Mississippi. I was born in 1955, the same year that Emmett Till was lynched and the same year when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, and in doing so she stood for all Black people and especially Black women. One of my many heroes, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, and that’s the same city when I was sentenced to life plus 25 years and I served my time in Alabama. For me, these folks are not some moment in time in Black history, because they are present with me every day and have been since I was born. When God weaves heroes into your birth, you walk with them the rest of your life. I walk with the lessons they taught me and today I am inspired by the heroes and giants of today, who are Black business owners, entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, and Black women. Some you’ve heard of and some you might not have heard of yet. But that’s because Black people, make history every day.”
