In my first year at NYU Abu Dhabi, I was not familiar with Black History Month and what it meant. In fact, I had never heard the phrase before. I was, therefore, a bit confused when I first learnt about it from Nafisatou Mounkaila, Class of 2017, from the United States.

Mounkaila explained to me at the time that Black History Month originates in the United States and is a nationally recognized tradition of dedicating the month of February to the exploration and appreciation of African-Americans in the U.S.. The topic had arisen during a conversation I was having with Mounkaila when she shared with me her idea to bring the celebration to NYUAD by organising events that would engage all community members.

But I had to ask: Why is there a month dedicated to Black History? Why just a month? Isn’t every month appropriate for the exploration and appreciation of black history? And what exactly does it mean to be black? Who defines these categories? Is this month only U.S.-specific? And if so, does that mean that Black History Month at NYUAD will be U.S.-specific, too? I was confronted with numerous questions to which I had very few answers.

Growing up in Ethiopia, I had never really thought about being black as an essential part of my identity. This was partly because I didn’t have to; I lived in a more or less racially homogenous society. And even in cases where the word Black was used as a form of identification, I did not fall under that category because it was attributed to people who had a darker skin complexion than I did. In many communities in Ethiopia, a darker skin tone is perceived negatively and is often met with long stares, derogatory insults and discrimination. While more and more people in Ethiopia today are identifying as black despite their varied skintones, the negative rhetoric around having dark skin still persists.

Prior to NYUAD, I attended a boarding school in South Africa, where I spent two years with students from over 40 African countries. It was here that I began to think more about my identity. I was no longer just Ethiopian, I was also African. And while that may seem a bit obvious now, it was an important realization for me at the time. It wasn’t that I did not know what continent I lived in, but that I never identified with anything outside the geographical borders of Ethiopia. Perhaps I would never have come about that realization had I not been at my boarding school. At my boarding school, I began to learn and think about the shared experiences of Africans within the continent and in the diaspora, as well as race relations in these places.

Mounkaila had asked me if I would be willing to help organize Black History Month and I had been very uncertain. I was overwhelmed by the questions I had in my head because I did not know how to answer them. Black History Month at NYUAD was going to have a global perspective; it was to explore the lived experiences of black people around the world. It was through the many dialogues and debates I had with members of the NYUAD community that I began to grasp the purpose of having such an event on campus. Just as I had learnt about the shared history and present state of Africans, I learn that black people around the world shared culture, language, heritage and experiences. At NYUAD, we have a very diverse black community, with members coming from different parts of the world. Black History Month gives us an opportunity to explore black identity in its many variations so that we gain a better understanding of issues that pertain to black people in different contexts. Being black means something different to me than it does to those around me, and that is okay.

Black History Month at NYUAD has allowed me to transcend borders, to learn new parts of my history and to establish solidarity with other members of the community. A month is never enough for such an endeavor, but Black History Month exists because it is important to deliberately and actively recognize a community that continues to be marginalised. Black History Month is not victimization, but it is partly a recognition of injustice and a time of renewed resolutions.

This discussion is too complex to fully articulate in a single article. In addition to the fact that race is a social construct, it is also understood differently by communities around the world. For instance, it is important to determine the differences between identifying as black and being identified as black. At NYUAD, such nuances were carefully navigated during the many discussions throughout this month.

Black History Month at NYUAD has been a valuable learning opportunity for me. I have learnt that there is no single definition of blackness, but that this does not take away from black people’s lived experiences in different parts of the world. I have learned to ask questions instead of making assumptions. I have learned to let others speak when I do not know or understand an issue or when that issue does not apply to me. I have learned that sometimes, it is important to just listen.

I have also learned that I have a lot more to learn and that I am ready.