In February 2026, Black History Month in the US, Democratic congressman Al Green held up a sign saying “Black people aren’t apes” during the State of the Union address. His protest was a direct response to a post from the President of the United States portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as simians. Knowledge of Black History would help non-Black people understand that this dehumanising comparison is nothing new.

In the UK, two leading Black actors, Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan, maintained their poise but clearly expressed their shock and disbelief while a man suffering from Tourettes shouted the “N” word at the BAFTA ceremony. White people wondered what was so offensive – although knowledge of Black History would have helped them understand the centuries of trauma and violence embodied in that slur.

As Black History Month comes to a close in the United States, Funmilayo urges its readers – as we do every year – to celebrate Black History every month. This is not just because of the insistent attempts to erase it in the US, occasionally thwarted by pushback from the courts, but because “history may not repeat itself, but it rhymes”.

Funmilayo’s publications are available year-round to remind readers that Black people worldwide have been artists, soldiers, and intellectuals, and always fought back against attempts to deny their freedom and humanity. Our Unsung Heroes in Black History series is growing every year. We hope you will check out some (or all) of our titles:

The Need for Heroes: Black Intellectuals Dig Up Their Past

Heroes Sung and Unsung: Black Artists in World History

Manuel Querino (1851-1923): An Afro-Brazilian Pioneer in the Age of Scientific Racism

Black Atlantic Crossings: The Lives and Anti-Racist Tactics of Booker T. Washington and Manuel R. Querino

Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre

They are available through several online booksellers.