History’s Greatest Lesson for me

Daniel
Birdie Books
February 4th, 2026

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Let’s be honest, the world is looking particularly bleak right now. Unfortunately, it is also looking frightfully familiar. For most of my life I’ve heard many stories similar to the ones we are watching unfold on the news today. Families forcibly ripped apart. Neighbors taken in the middle of the night without word or warrant. Extrajudicial executions carried out in broad daylight. 

To many it may feel like we are being drug back in time, to days of far less freedom. To others, this seems like the natural progression of a system that has never extended them the liberties others have enjoyed. But no matter which camp you find yourself in, the solution is the same, hope. 

Albeit corny, that is the greatest lesson history has instilled in me. No change comes about without someone being delusional enough to believe it possible. That’s why history has become the target for so many attacks in the past few years. In learning history, especially Black history, we can find comfort in knowing there have been people who survived much more dire times than us. Furthermore, we can learn the strategies they used to survive and resist in spite of their worse odds. 

Black History Month offers us the opportunity to reaffirm our efforts to remain hopeful, to double down on our commitments to community oriented education. Every time you come to the store, not just in February, you will see books on our shelves highlighting the Black experience. Not just our struggles and resilience, but our hopes and dreams and joy. 

That's the second greatest lesson. All the great icons of Black history were just people before they were canonized. Harriet was just a person. Martin was just a person. Maya was just a person. We are just people. The only difference between them and us is that we have their legacies to guide us.

Sincerely,

Daniel