Black History Month 2021 Recap!

During the month of February 2021, we celebrated Black History Month by featuring four amazing changemakers. Below you can read a little about each person, and learn how you can get involved with United Planet in fighting for their causes.

Harry Belafonte: A Lifelong Fight for Social Justice

Harry Belafonte is a singer and songwriter best known for his calypso hits such as “Jump in the Line” and “The Banana Boat Song“. He became our first feature of Black History Month 2021 due to his work in promoting social justice and diversity worldwide.

Harry Belafonte speaking at the 1963 March on Washington.

Belafonte strongly supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. He organized and financially supported several key events such as the 1961 Freedom Rides and the 1963 March on Washington. He stepped in to raise money at crucial moments. One time he raised $50,000 to bail several unjustly imprisoned civil rights leaders out of jail, including his close friend Martin Luther King Jr.

Outside the US, Belafonte supported efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He also advocated for accessible education for children in Africa as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In his fight for justice, Belafonte never gave up in the face of opposition, stating,

“You can cage the singer, but not the song.”

How you can work with United Planet to fight for social justice: If you’re interested in volunteering to fight for equality, we have a great opportunity in Costa Rica! One of our projects there is looking for volunteers to encourage ethical behavior to promote social justice and sustainable development. That project can help you gain skills in content creation for social media and other online platforms.

Another good Virtual Quest where you can campaign for human rights and challenge injustice is in Nigeria. That project wants someone to perform internal and external management tasks, while also maintaining communication channels.

Graça Machel: The Importance of Education and the Rights of All Women and Children

Graça Machel was our second feature of Black History Month 2021 for her accomplishments in promoting women’s and children’s rights across Africa.

Graça Machel speaking in Johannesburg in 2010.

Machel first came to prominence as Mozambique’s first Minister of Education and Culture. In her first ten years, the number of children enrolled in schools in Mozambique nearly doubled.

Afterward, she took on various roles with the UN, her biggest accomplishment coming from her groundbreaking “UN Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”. She traveled throughout Africa a lot during her time with the UN, and promoted immunizations for children and safer pregnancies for women. Another thing Machel advocates for is women breaking into traditionally male-dominated spaces. Last year, in an interview, she left this powerful advice for women, stating:

“If they refuse to make space for you at the table, then create your own table”.

How you can work with United Planet to promote education and defend the rights of women and children: We have a great Virtual Quest project in Mali for defending women’s and children’s rights. This same project also promotes healthcare and a good education for all children. By volunteering, you can gain experience in teaching English, and creating online promotional materials. For any female-identifying readers interested in computing, we have an exciting Virtual Quest project in Kenya promoting women working in tech. You can either do online research for the organization or maintain communications channels.

Read More/ICYMI: Virtual Volunteer, Bridget Makes an Impact in Mali

Marcus Rashford: Ending Childhood Food Insecurity

Marcus Rashford is a star footballer (soccer player) whose recent campaign to end childhood food insecurity in the UK made him our third feature of Black History Month 2021.

Marcus Rashford representing his country. PC: Oleg Bkhambri

In summer 2020, when the British government announced they’d stop funding food vouchers for families, Rashford wrote an incredibly moving letter calling on the British parliament to reconsider. He himself grew up reliant on free meals. Due to his platform as a popular forward for Manchester United and the English National Team, the letter blew up on social media. The UK ended up extending a £120 million fund to provide vouchers to feed 1.3 million children.

Despite that victory, Rashford still actively campaigns to ensure the UK works on reforming its food programs while extending the food vouchers. During winter break 2020, he offered to retweet any business that pledged to offer free meals to kids, leading to 80 retweets in a day and over 200 businesses joining the effort.  Rashford fights on to this day, stating,

“If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that any one of us could fall into unforeseen circumstances. Now is the time for action.”

How you can work with United Planet to end food insecurity: We have Virtual Quest projects in Romania and Costa Rica in which you can work to reduce food insecurity for children and also help them get access to education. Both programs are looking for people to create promotional materials, maintain websites and social media, and research educational programs. The project in Romania also gives experience in creating arts and educational activities for children.

Additionally, if you’re looking for a Virtual Quest that empowers children through sport to become leaders who stand up for change tomorrow, we have a project for that in South Africa. You can help fundraise, market, and promote the development of leaders through sport, and develop sport and physical education curriculums.

Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett: Saving Lives and the World

Our last feature for Black History Month 2021 was Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett, a hard-working viral immunologist at the US National Institute of Health’s Vaccine Research Center. She was an absolute must-feature for us due to her work in helping create one of the COVID-19 vaccinations that all of us have waited so long for.

Dr. Corbett working in the lab on the COVID-19 vaccine.

In January 2020, Corbett went into the lab to work on researching and creating a vaccine for a new, unknown virus that all of us now know too well. Her team at the NIH worked with the pharmaceutical company Moderna to develop a vaccine with an over 90% effectiveness rate. The vaccine was approved at the end of 2020 and is currently being widely distributed. Lives are being saved.

Corbett takes pride in her involvement in the vaccine’s creation. She wanted to step up for the sake of other scientists of color who often don’t receive the recognition they should, saying,

“I felt like it was necessary to be seen and to not be a hidden figure, so to speak. I felt that it was important to do that because the level of visibility that it would have to younger scientists and also to people of color who have often worked behind the scenes and essentially done the dirty work for these large efforts toward a vaccine.”

How you can work with United Planet to work towards medical advances: We don’t offer any projects helping develop vaccines. However, we have many medical-related Virtual Quests. A project in Costa Rica is looking for volunteers to create and edit online materials to promote medical research. There’s also an opportunity in Costa Rica where you can support oncological patients by aiding them in finding the healthcare they need. You can gain skills by creating a bilingual campaign, making educational materials, and helping with website development. Lastly, in Ghana, we have a project promoting healthcare for children and creating health curriculums for schools.

Find Out More: Virtual Volunteer Programs Around the World!

Supporting the Black Community Beyond Black History Month

Although Black History Month 2021 may be over, it’s important to continue supporting the black community. Here are some ways to help out and educate yourself below:

Black Lives Matter – The largest movement fighting against racial inequality worldwide.

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) – For over 75 years, the NAACP’s legal organization has fought against racial inequality through litigation and public education.

Support Black Owned – An online directory of black-owned businesses that you can use to find Black-owned businesses to support worldwide.

Free Black Therapy – A non-profit organization ran by Black mental health professionals, who aim to provide free remote mental health care to the Black and African American community.

Black Education Matters – A resources hub where you can find documentaries, readings, and free PDFs to educate yourself on Black social justice.

“Eyes on the Prize” Documentary – An award-winning documentary made by PBS covering the events of the American Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to the mid-1980s.