The LA Health Services Department celebrated Black History Month at locations across our health system. These events were a wonderful opportunity to learn about important historical contributions by Black Americans to life in Southern California and the United States while connecting with coworkers and the community. The celebrations included presentations, educational exhibits, food, vendors, music and much more. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for putting on such informative, interesting and fun events.
Black History Month: Past and Present
Guest Essay
By: Versellia (Sally) Biggers, Tops Alum, Health Information Management, Doc-Imaging Supervisor
Black History month is a living story of struggle and overcoming. It is both past and present. It is the formation and multiplication of African Americans’ strength for innovation and the will to survive and thrive in the face of relentless violence against our humanity. Our history is chronicled over thousands of years of African Americans’ existence. Beginning with an African American activist in the civil rights movement, Rosa Louise McCauley Park, who was known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.
Moments in Black History month that are noteworthy according to American Radio Works include the work of Dorothy Height, who was one of the most powerful women in the long civil rights struggle. Through her leadership in the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the National Council of Negro Woman, along with countless other councils and committees, Ms. Height spent most of the 20th century fighting poverty, racism and sexism. Her work ranged from leading fair wage battles in the 1930s, to organizing voter registration drives in the 1960s and initiating nationwide black family reunions in the 1980s and ‘90s. Ms. Height has pursued her ambitions with the vigor of a missionary, deeply believing that her duty as a Christian is to help people who suffer from discrimination and poverty.
A trailblazer with an impressive résumé is Karen Ruth Bass. She is an African American politician, social worker, and former Physician Assistant. She is currently serving as the first African American female, 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. Unquestionably, Mayor Bass will continue to do what she’s done her whole career: fight for better jobs, healthcare, and education to provide people the opportunities they need to succeed in today’s growing world.
In the words of civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
