Celebrate Black History Month!

Each February we celebrate the African American story in our country. Honoring the history and culture and learning about those who contributed to the growth of our country is the foundation of this important month. In 2024, the chosen theme for the month is African Americans and the Arts.

Honoring Black History in the Arts

To explore the Black experience through art, you need go no further than the recent Grammy Awards. There, Tracy Chapman, accompanied by Luke Combs, stepped up to sing one of the most groundbreaking songs of our time. Fast Car, released some 38 years ago, still resonates powerfully with people as a song about basic human struggle tinged with hope.

Chapman wrote the song and made her demo tape at her campus radio station at Tufts University, where she earned a degree in anthropology and African Studies. Fast Car is as relevant today as it was in 1986 for the human connectedness it offers. So, on Grammy night, those chills you felt, and likely shared with many, were a brush with history.

“This song represents the world that I saw growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, coming from a working-class background. Raised by a single mom, I was just watching people, being in a community of people who were struggling. So, everyone was really just working hard and hoping that things would get better.”
– Tracy Chapman

Discover historically important visual artists and the many writers, poets and civil rights activists that carved the path in the arts for so many to follow.

Read about our American House residents during this month of honor.
There is Sarah from American House Brentwood, a Wellness Director who’s been a caregiver since she was 16-years-old.
Darline at American House East II was a member of the Detroit Police Department from 1985 to 2000.
Mary, a resident at American House Brentwood was a music-lover from the time she was a child and became a Fisk Jubilee Singer.

Happy Black History Month!