“First and foremost, Black history is every day. Black history is American history. Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements of Black people.”
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That’s how activist and former Head of Black Lives Matter for Greater New York Nupol Kiazolu responded when RADIO.COM’s Femi Redwood asked her what Black History Month meant to her.
All month long we’ll be speaking with activists, politicians, historians, musicians, athletes, and more in celebration of Black History Month for a special RADIO.COM LIVE Check In series.
“We should be celebrating Black people every day because we’ve played a pivotal role in the progression of this country and this country was built on the backs of my people for free,” Kiazolu said. “Like I said, Black history is American history and Black history is every day, but we just extra Black this month.”
Even though she’s 20 years old, Kiazolu admits “I feel so much older than I actually am because this movement definitely ages you.”
Kiazolu has been an activist for a long time though and her story has roots from an experience she had when she was just 12 years old.
“Trayvon Martin’s murder really forced me to come face to face at an early age of who this country actually is and how it views me as a young Black women in America," she said. "When Trayvon Martin was murdered by George Zimmerman and I found out about it, my immediate emotions were anger and confusion. At the time I couldn’t fully articulate how I felt, but I knew that I was angry and had to do something.”
Kiazolu then came up with the idea of holding a silent protest, which saw her put the message “Do I Look Suspicious?” on the back of a gray hoodie and carry Skittles and iced tea in her hand, the two items Trayvon Martin had in his hand at the time of his death.
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She found that her protest caused a lot of tension as teachers and staff felt as if she was being too political. Kiazolu persisted and was written up by a teacher the next day. She found an ally in her math teacher, who marched alongside her to the principal’s office. Her principal challenged her to do research and present a case the next day.
Kiazolu spent the day researching and came across the Tinker v. Des Moines case, which supports students’ First Amendment rights. The next day, Kiazolu and her math teacher went into the principal’s office, both in their hoodies, and had a discussion with the principal.
She ended up winning the case and after leaving his office, the two went to the cafeteria. “When we walked into the cafeteria, literally every student in there had their hoodies on with the same exact message taped to their back. My teacher and I just stood there and cried," she said.
Kiazolu said she was surprised by the sight since she was frequently the target of bullying. “I didn’t think that I would have an impact on anyone else or that anyone would pay attention for that matter," she says. "But that just taught me that it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, you can effectuate change and your voice is powerful. That’s what catapulted me into activism at the age of 12.”
“This work is absolutely taxing,” she adds. “A lot of people don’t talk about the trauma that Black organizers face on the frontlines every single day in this work that we do. I don’t regret anything I’ve done, I don’t regret coming into this space, but there’s also power in recognizing my trauma and coming face to face with that and sharing it with others so they know it’s ok. It doesn’t make you weak to cry, it doesn’t make you weak to share your trauma or to be vulnerable, it actually makes you stronger.”
Kiazolu implores people to take it on themselves to educate themselves about racism rather than relying on Black people to do it for them. “I tell people, especially White folks to hold themselves accountable for educating themselves on what racism is and what it looks like and how you benefit from it and [how] Black and Brown folks bear the brunt of what you benefit from,” she says.
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For all the challenges that Kiazolu has faced and will continue to face, she’s optimistic about the future. “If I wasn’t optimistic then I wouldn’t be doing the work that I do today. My optimism keeps me going every single day,” she exclaimed.
“I do have faith that we’re going to make it to the promised land as MLK would say. I do have faith that we are going to be a better country in all seriousness. I definitely have faith in my generation, like I said we are a generation of fighters. Gen Z is resilient and we are really making waves in terms of this fight for equity for all people. I believe we’re going to eventually get to a place where all lives truly matter, but right now we have this movement because time and time again we’ve seen that Black lives don’t matter to this country. When Black lives matter truly and reflects that systemically, all lives will matter.”
Join us all month long to celebrate Black History Month with a special RADIO.COM LIVE Check In series. Find a full schedule of our upcoming conversations here.
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