Black History Month: Celebration as an Act of Solidarity

Each year, Black History Month gives us an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the rich contributions of Black Americans to art, science, culture, and communities. Our celebrations this year come with an added sense of urgency, a sharp sense of the importance of remembering, elevating, and honoring this critical history.

History has always been subject to interpretation through the lens of our times, of those who tell the stories and, increasingly, of those who generate more likes on social media; this is not new. Today, however, history faces an existential threat from those who would subvert the diverse tapestry of American history to create a national myth rooted in privilege, rather than a true past and present record of people and events.

This attempt to rewrite history is far from an isolated event. For example, the National Park Service last month removed exhibits and displays about slavery from a Philadelphia home previously used by George Washington and John Adams. The displays had described the local history of slavery and commemorated nine enslaved people kept there while Washington was President. In removing the displays, the Park Service said it was acting to ensure “accuracy, honesty and alignment with shared national values.” (A legal challenge by the City of Philadelphia resulted in a court order requiring reinstatement of the displays, noting that the President lacks the authority to “disassemble historical truths.”)

At a time when Florida middle school teachers are required to teach the “personal benefits” that enslaved people may have received, Black History Month feels like an essential act of resistance. At MAMH, our celebration is an act of solidarity with those who honor the contributions of Black Americans, recognize the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow, and condemn the racism that still permeates our social, economic, and political systems.

In this spirit, I invite you to learn more about a towering and influential figure in the field of psychiatry, Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller. There are many subtitles to his story: first Black psychiatrist, graduating in 1897 at the age of 25 from Boston University School of Medicine; pioneer scientist in Alzheimer’s research, publishing the first comprehensive review of Alzheimer's disease in 1912; accomplished neurologist, pathologist, and teacher; grandchild of people enslaved in the United States; immigrant from Liberia, founded by formerly enslaved people returned to Africa; and husband and father. In 1974, the Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Community Mental Health Center opened in next to his medical school alma mater to serve Boston’s South End residents, named in his honor by decree of the Massachusetts General Court. Learn more about this inspiring leader and his contributions here.