Image: From the New Yorker article: Madame President: The Cover That Never Was | Art by Kadir Nelson. We coulda had a real one, and racism and misogyny done f–d it up for everybody.

It’s that time of year again, Black History Month. Only, these aren’t normal times. Black History Month–like just about everything else–is under attack, by the same destructive forces of bigotry, racism, and hate that inspired its very creation. So, looks like the past is prologue. But get ya’ chin off ya’ chest. Hold your head up. This ain’t the first time we’ve had this fight. And Black History Month can help us understand where we are, how we got here, and how we can survive, fight back, and overcome this dark moment.

Every February in the United States, the country usually sets aside 28 (or 29 in a leap year) days to celebrate, discuss and engage Black History. Innocuous enough. And yet Feb. 1st seems to signal the beginning of a 28-day long ritual of whining. How come they get their own month? What about White History Month? It’s a cornucopia of misconceptions and endless micro-aggressive racial faux-pas.