Napa’s 4th Annual Black History Month Celebration

Black History Month, day 19

Thanks to the Napa Valley CanDo Organization’s weekly e-newsletter, I can credit and thank a network of people and organizations for staying relevant and celebrating Black history right here in the valley.

On Saturday, February 20, 2021, a day-long line up of events and presenters will roll out in honor of Black History Month. The activities will be held online and include multi-generational perspectives, so there’s something for everyone to dive into: Children’s Story Time, Growing Up Black in Napa, Faith Leaders as Allies, How to be Actively Anti-Racist, a special edition of “ the podcast, The Big SIp,” with desserts provided by Buster’s. The day’s celebration plans to touch all bases, and seeks to educate, inform, and shift minds and hearts.

This is the 4th Annual Napa Valley Black History Month Celebration, convened by a thoughtful group of pro-active leaders and organizations making strides to recognize, uplift, and extend the oftentimes hard-won achievements of Black people, some of whom make their home in the valley, which has not always been a hospitable place for Blacks to live. The event grew from a small friends-and-family gathering started by James “JT” Thompson, in an effort to celebrate the valuable contributions of Black people in Napa Valley’s history. Listed organizers are: People B4 Policy, Rainbow Action Network, First 5 Napa Network, People’s Collective for Change, and Teens Connect for a virtual Black History Month Celebration.

If you didn’t get a chance to join the celebration when it kicked off, the organizers have collected a set of recorded events, plus extra resources on how to be anti-racist.