It's Black History Month! Here's how we showed up.

Ahhh, February. The shortest month. The grayest month, if you live in the Pacific Northwest like we do. And also the month President Gerald Ford formalized at the federal level as Black History Month in 1976, after educators, centers of Black culture, and community organizations had been celebrating it for years. In the celebration of the United States Bicentennial, President Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Ain’t it the truth. The ugly, ugly truth.

BooginHead has been a proud, loud supporter of Black Lives Matter and the fight for social justice and equity for a while now. That passion didn’t begin in February and it certainly won’t end when February’s over, but how does a group of majority-white people in a small baby products company show up for Black History Month after a year filled with so much suffering and pain?

A list of cool facts about Black History Month or Black Women in History isn’t enough. Trying to condense millennia of Black History into a cute list of facts for kids is the work of lifetimes. Putting together a list of children’s books with Black protagonists, or children’s books by Black authors seems like a great idea and yeah we are definitely going to do that (coming soon to a BooginHead Blog near you!), but is that really how we need to show up in this moment?

It’s not. In this moment, BooginHead needs to put its money where it’s mouth is, and so we did.

You definitely need to read Sulwe, tho

This year for Black History Month we wanted to be a part of healing and safety for Black people in this country – their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual healing and safety. To that end, we donated to four incredible organizations who are doing the difficult, necessary, and powerful work of protecting, supporting, and preserving Black life and Black culture.

If it’s within your means, we encourage you to join us in donating to these vital organizations.

The Conscious Kid

We are frequent supporters of The Conscious Kid through our COVID-19 relief donations. BooginHead donates 10% of all face mask sales on BooginHead.com to COVID-19 relief local and nationwide, and no organization hits that mark more closely than The Conscious Kid. From a central GoFundMe they disperse direct rent relief payments to families caught in the middle of an economic downturn and a pandemic. If you’re looking for a list of children’s books with Black protagonists or children’s books by Black authors, The Conscious Kid is the resource for you. In honor of Black History Month we donated again to their vital work in keeping families housed and safe in the coldest part of the year, in the darkest days of COVID-19 thus far with over 500,000 lives lost to the illness.

BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

We’re going to quote directly off their website, because it just can’t be said any better. BEAM is a “collective of advocates, teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, psychologists, and activists committed to the emotional and mental health and healing of Black communities.” Their mission is to “remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing… through education, training, advocacy, and the creative arts.” It is a terrible fact that Black pain is too often ignored and that Black people have a difficult time seeking mental health services or having their struggles with mental health taken seriously. BEAM aims to remove those barriers to Black healing, and we aim to help them do it. Thank you, BEAM.

Loveland Therapy Fund

LoveLand Therapy Fund, established in 2018 by Rachel Cargle, provides financial assistance to Black women and girls nationally seeking therapy. They partner with Therapy for Black Girls, National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network, Talkspace, and Open Path Collective to connect Black women and girls with culturally competent services and mental health professionals.

You don’t have to Google too hard to find article after article and study after study on how Black women experience the most racism, the poorest earnings, and the worst maternal health prospects in the United States. And yet, no one accomplishes so much with the deck stacked so high against them as Black women.

Queen Stacey (via elle.com)

For Black History Month we’re celebrating the triumphs and fighting against the struggles Black women face by supporting the Loveland Therapy Fund.

The Okra Project

The Okra Project is “a collective that seeks to address the global crisis of violence by providing resources and meals to Black Trans people worldwide.” That is, they bring home-cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans people wherever they can. All cultural groups preserve, celebrate, and pass on their culture to new generations through the food they cook, and not only does The Okra Project connect Black Trans people to their distinct heritages through culturally specific food, it seeks to preserve Black heritage through the recipes, ingredients, and flavors it collects, cooks, and serves.

There you have it. BooginHead’s small contribution to Black wellness, healing, safety, and cultural preservation this month. Check out our Black Lives Matter blog to see where we donate monthly in support of Black Life, which frequently crosses over into where we donate monthly to provide COVID-19 relief. We believe Black Lives Matter, love is love, and family is everything. We hope you’ll join us in showing up for Black History, not just in February, but every day.