While Black History Month has come to a close, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), its founding organization, has laid the groundwork for a year of renewal and resistance to achieve African American freedom.
“History is not abstract. It is embodied in the people we choose to honor, and if we choose to serve,” said ASALH President and CEO Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, during the organization’s annual Black History Month Luncheon at the JW Marriott in Northwest D.C. on Saturday.
Established by Carter G. Woodson in 1915, ASALH is taking a nod from its founder in challenging racial oppression with an emphasis on the values of truth and education — and knowing where that foundation starts. With “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” as ASALH’s 2026 theme — as Woodson started Negro History Week in 1926 — the organization highlighted the now monthlong observance as a moment to rejoice and call to action.
During the Feb. 28 event, which started with a book fair and official U.S. Postal Service stamp unveiling, the speaker echoed the importance of advocacy and empowerment of the Black community, along with the continued celebration of its socio-economic, cultural, and intellectual strides.
As part of her keynote address, Whitehead emphasized the importance of building a life without “empty promises” for the next generation.
“[Woodson] is someone who taught us that the foundation matters, that when the wind is reaching, when the storms are coming, we dig down with our roots into the good soil, and we get stronger,” said the ASALH president. “How can [our children] withstand this world if we are not building them up, how do they know who they are, if you and I have not told them…how do you expect them to survive?”
From ‘Planting Trees’ to Building Communities, ASALH’s Plan for Black America
At the core of her riveting keynote address, Whitehead offered a three-point survival tactic.
Amid an afternoon of upliftment, including the metaphoric and literal flowers bestowed to community champion Gladys Gary Vaughn, the ASALH CEO journeyed through the steps of resistance needed to stir change in “an age-old battle” of white supremacy.
Part of that fight, she added, is assuming the courage to bear fruits unknown.
“You are sitting on the trees planted by Zora, planted by Ida, planted by Langston Hughes, planted by King. These are not your trees,” she said. “We in this room [are] probably not going to survive what is happening in this country…you gotta be a gardner, you gotta be a courageous seeker — you have to put everything on the line.”
Thus, the Lincoln University alumna emphasized a recurring notion to create spaces that reflect a shared mission towards freedom for Black America.
Simply put: There’s “no time for chicken dinners – we’ve got work to do.”
The Rev. Kevin Lamar Peterman of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church necessitated the Black community’s unwavering commitment to its institutions and suggested that it “bring up a future of Gladys Gary Vaughns,” recognizing the leaders’ commitment to civil rights, equity and uplifting others.
“If we do not protect our institutions in this day,” Peterman added, “we will destroy ourselves and our children.”
Together, the addresses conveyed the everclear message of not only remembering the roots and traditions of those who came before, but paving the road for the future success and elevation of Black society in America. As the issues of continued prejudice and further systemic reform arise, ASALH affirms that now more than ever is the time for the Black community to be in tune with its identity and to fervently fight for equality.
Citing the words of James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, Whitehead closed out with a vision of hope and perseverance.
“We will ‘let it resound loud as the rolling sea,’ we will ‘sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,’” she said. “We will ‘face the rising sun of our new day begun,’ and we will ‘march on till victory is won.’”