Calendars of the Diaspora

Today is Wednesday June 16th - 3 days from Juneteenth and 13 days after Odunde. I was probably like 3 years old when I learned what the 4th of July was, 17 years old when I learned what happened on June 19th- the eerily symbolic delayed celebration of  emancipation for enslaved Africans in Texas- and 20 years old when I learned what June 3rd represented- Odunde, the Yoruba new year.

Google Trends provides some evidence that there are plenty of other people on similar journeys, as interest- in Juneteenth at least- reached it relative peak in the Summer of 2020.

I don't know what to make of the relative popularity of the search term as a function of different regions within the U.S.

But a random correlation when you look at the metro level 🤷🏿‍♀️

Anyways - there are an upsetting number of days whose significance I came to learn of much later than I would have hoped. From the Yoruba New Year on June 3rd, to Walter Rodney's birthday on March 23rd.

It seems that every year I learn about something new, an event in history with significance to Black people somewhere in the world. In an effort to accelerate the accumulation & dissemination of this important information I'm sharing a calendar¹ I started as I was writing this piece. Hoping to add more significant days via crowdsourcing as people more educated² & in touch than me get involved and contribute.

If any of these days mean something to you - feel free to subscribe to the Google Calendar-  this will keep you in the know on each of these special days.

Submit Events for the Black Diaspora Calendar

If you would like to submit your own suggestions for special days see the form below:

1. Have to also pay homage to all the different Black significance calendars that already exist - my favorite of which is Black 365
2. More educated as defined by Professor Sophie; knowledge of self ✊🏿