As a Black woman adopted transracially by a white family, I've made it my mission to fiercely advocate for the needs of transracial adoptees. I was transracially adopted as an infant from Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Lititz's racial demographic is less than one percent Black or African American (DataUsa).
 
Needless to say, I was one of the only Black girls in my hometown. The racial difference between my community, my parents, and I, made navigating race racism, and culture along with developing a positive racial identity an extremely difficult journey.  However, understanding the rich history of Black americans has helped and continues to help me in understanding the culture, community,  and family that my childhood self longed to know.
 
My love of learning informed my first career as a high school english teacher and drove me to earn my master’s degree in Urban Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Although I'm no longer in the classroom in a traditional sense, I use education and my experiences as a means to combat racial ignorance and racism in transracial adoption, foster care and beyond.
 
My family and I relocated to the twin cities from philadelphia in the summer of 2021. This calendar is the continuation of my years-long practice of learning about Black history and self.
 
Over the course of the 29 days of February, this calendar holds a daily lesson or activity to deepen our understanding of Black excellence in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I hope what you discover throughout this month is helpful, enlightening, and transformative, to you in whichever way it may apply to you and the people in your life.