Black History is Our History and Highlights the Power of Inclusion
by Ellenore Angelidis, OHBD Executive Director
My daughter has asked me tough questions about Black History Month and the equity issues it has sought to highlight over the years. In third grade, she asked me why her school focused on the same 3-4 people every year. She goes to a diverse school but there are a limited number of students who identify as African American or African. She knows so many more inspiring and impactful Black people whom she would like to see recognized for their contributions. In fourth grade, she also asked why the focus seemed mainly to be on slavery and civil rights rather than broader issues. She wanted to know why there is not more focus on the contributions Black people have made throughout history like the amazing women featured in the film Hidden Figures and the people she was learning about from her birth country of Ethiopia. She then took it upon herself to be elected to the student council and started to work within her school make the changes she wanted to see before the pandemic took centerstage. And later in fifth grade when the George Floyd-inspired demonstrations were ongoing, she asked me what we were doing specifically to help address racial inequities.
In each case in addition to the specific answers, I was so grateful to share the connection I find between our OHBD volunteer work and making the world a more equitable place. We are helping Black children and adults everywhere get more chances to see themselves, and an important part of their history and culture, in children’s books. We know representations matters. We are now including kids with different abilities in our books as part of the launch of our new Mike Carr Legacy Project to honor a dear friend who left us too soon. See more on this important effort below.
We are also helping create the business and technical leaders of the future through our collaboration with the US Embassy. We know change and progress requires strong, inclusive, and brave leaders. We are teaching them computer science and business/entrepreneurship, but also how to be inclusive and value differences. We understand technical skills alone will not achieve the desired outcomes. I hear Leyla’s voice and questions when I evaluate whether what we are doing is contributing in a meaningful way to a more just world.
This year, we decided to more purposefully engage in Black History Month, celebrating the people, places, history, and culture of Ethiopia. We had a great time brainstorming which books to include – like those highlighting true stories: A Story of Hope and the Legend of Saint Yared or others focused on amazing ancient cities like Gondar and Lalibela. We also wanted to include the places where we are working with the US Embassy to offer leadership and computer science classes, among others: Addis, Mekelle, Dire Dawa, Jimma and Bahir Dar – all of which have a rich and long history.
The celebration is joyful and thought-provoking. It was also a reminder of when we contributed to a panel discussion at One Vibe on Pan Africanism. “We all have a shared history as well as a shared destiny.” The pandemic highlighted this truth in a stark and painful way this past year. Black history is our collective history and inclusion of these stories benefits us all. And we look forward to celebrating and highlighting Black history year-round.
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New Team Member Spotlight: Yoseph Ayalew, Program Manager Local Printing
OHBD is thrilled to welcome Yoseph Ayalew to our team. He's spearheading a project to print Ready, Set, Go books right in Ethiopia! We asked Yoseph what motivated him to lead this incredible effort:
"I’ve always followed my passion rather than running after money. So when it comes to ‘work that matters’, non-profit jobs offer the opportunity to be a part of something that will profoundly impact society. That is why I joined Open Heart Big Dreams. Ethiopian children want to read a good story, but with the lack of good reading material, standards of literacy are going down. I suppose it is all due to the lack of stakeholders, but a few well-meaning Ethiopians are helping children properly focus on reading and making education a priority. I believe Open Heart Big Dreams will fulfill for those children who want read many story books. I am lucky to be a part of this journey. I am probably not the first person to work towards achieving my particular dream. As such, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. My dream is big like Open Heart Big Dreams: to immerse myself with great ideas and techniques, and to take OHBD to the next level. That level is to improve children reading skills by helping to publish many story books with my colleagues throughout Ethiopia. Thank you. God bless you all"
OHBD now has bilingual Amharic-English books available for pick up in Addis Ababa for $2/book, with a 50 book minimum per order. We have 10 titles available in Q1 and plan to add 10 more titles during each quarter of 2021. Tremendous thanks to Partners with Ethiopia for sponsoring half of the first set of books!
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