Black Voicesblack future monthblack lives matter networkblack futures month series

29 Inspiring Essays And Illustrations That Explore The State Of Black Future

Our #BlackFutureMonth series helped to make this February one to remember.
Lilly Workneh
By 

Black Voices Senior Editor, HuffPost

The Huffington Post

On Black Voices, we honor black history year-round, but this February, we doubled-down on our efforts to recognize and celebrate the work of so many astounding African Americans.

We collaborated with Darnell L. Moore and Tanya Lucia Bernard of the Black Lives Matter Network to not only examine black past and present but also explore how we can collectively achieve a better black future.

We brought back our #BlackFutureMonth series, through which we invited 29 black writers to examine 29 different topics and envision ways we can work together to address them. Each piece was accompanied with beautiful original artwork from various talented artists, which reflected upon the respective themes, including education, employment and black excellence.

Through our collaborative series, we not only wanted to celebrate the achievements of yesterday but also explore what we can do NOW to create a better tomorrow for black America. With that in mind, here are the 29 pieces we published last month. We hope they inspire you.

1
Day 1: Afrofuturism
Seán Geer
"Why Black People Must Hold On To Our Dreams," by Kiyan Williams.
2
Day 2: Environmental Justice
EH
"Black Lives Matter In Envrionmental Justice," by Naa Oyo A. Kwate.
3
Day 3: Reproductive Justice
Black Lives Matter Network
"Liberating Lives Through Reproductive Justice," by Renee Bracey Sherman
4
Day 4: Black Transgender Lives
Ethan Parker
"Black Trans Lives Matter, Too," by Cherno Biko.
5
Day 5: Children And Youth
Alyssa Etoile
"The Every Day Practice of Black Girl Accountability," by Aimee Meredith Cox.
6
Day 6: Healing Justice and Wellness
Tiffany Lenoi Jones
"Wellness and Black Molecular Future," by Mark Anthony Johnson.
7
Day 7: Global Blackness
Alixa Garcia
"Global Blackness and Diasporan Dopeness," by Luvvie Ajayi.
8
Day 8: Black Aging and Elderly
Ryan Spence
"Black Seniors: How Do We Fit Into the Black Lives Matter Movement?" by Dr. Wilhemina Perry.
9
Day 9: Black Immigrants
Nancy Lisandra Cepero Dominico
"What About Us?: The Black Immigrant Narrative," by Benjamin Ndugga-Kabuye.
10
Day 10: Voter Rights and Suppression
Alyssa Etoile
"The Movement for Voting Rights Is a Movement for a Better Future," by Rashad Robinson.
11
Day 11: School-To-Prison Pipeline
Damon Davis
"Things Are Gonna Get Easier: Refusing Schooling as a Site of Black Suffering," by Michael J. Dumas.
12
Day 12: Black Women Solidarity
Black Lives Matter Network
"Sister To Sister: Black Women's Solidarity," by Elle Hearns and Treva B. Lindsey.
13
Day 12: Disability Justice*
Getty
"Black and Disabled: When Will Our Lives Matter?" by Eddie Ndopu.

*There is no original artwork available for this piece.
14
Day 14: Black Love and Friendship
Tanya Lucia Bernard & Foremost
"You Are Not My Leader If You Don't Love Me," by Darnell L. Moore.
15
Day 15: Mass Incarceration
Awuradwoa Afful
"Mass Incarceration--A Web of Loss?" by Marlon Peterson.
16
Day 16: HIV/AIDS
Edward Rhea Hemphill
"A Call for the Eradication of HIV Criminalization," by Martez Smith.
17
Day 17: Political Prisoners
Kendrick Daye
"Free Em All: 50 Years Later, Black Panthers Are Still Fighting for Freedom," by Asha Bandele.
18
Day 18: LGBTQ Lives
Ashley Yates
"Unapologetically Black: The Revolution Continues," by Danielle Moodie-Mills.
19
Day 19:Domestic Violence
Tiffany Lenoi James
"Imagining A World Where Ending Partner Violence Was A Priority," by Yolo Akill.
20
Day 20: Food and farming
Gabe Bernard
"The Taste of Justice," by Noliwe Rooks.
21
Day 20: Body Positivity
Sharee Miller
"There Is Freedom in the Water," by Jamal T. Lewis.
22
Day 22: Faith
Odera Igbokwe
"Faith in a New Black Future," by Joseph Sorett.
23
Day 23: Employment and Housing
Sandra Khalifa
"Confessions of a Gentrifier: Choices, Conflicts and Contradictions," by Toni L. Griffin.
24
Day 23: Labor Unions
Alyssa Etoile
"Do We Care for the Black Women Who Care for Us?" by Alicia Garza.
25
Day 25: Policing
Anonymous
"Black Lives and Blue Uniforms on Campus," by Dante Barry.
26
Day 26: Black Leadership
Sharee Miller
"What Does Black Leadership Look Like to You?" by Oneka LaBennett.
27
Day 27: The Arts
Ethan Parker
"Like Black Lives, Black Arts Do Matter," by Hari Ziyad.
28
Day 28: Black Economies
Nikki Pressley
"From Wasteland to Wondaland: Socialisms and Black Economic Futures," by Andrew Wilkes.
29
Day 29: Black Excellence
4oremost
"Everything Black Folks Do Is Excellent," by Danez Smith.

Before You Go

1. Black Lives Matter leaders met with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

11 Things Black Activists Accomplished In 2015

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