Hi friends! i don’t know how many of you have stuck around with us since the beginning, but in 2012 or 2013 I got the idea to celebrate all the Smithsonian Heritage Months – and everything launched in 2014. A lot has changed since then, and the frequency of posts have as well. I have to say I cringe a bit at the word “heritage” now. Is that weird? Is that just me? :X However, that’s what they’re called so …

Anyway, what are the Smithsonian Heritage Months? (There used to be a calendar on the Smithsonian site that I can’t for the life of me find right now. I’m certain I’ve posted it in the past but this week I’ve noticed a lot of broken image links. 😐 Although poking around the Smithsonian site I’m seeing a lot of broken links and missing pages too, so that actually makes me feel better/less of a failure. Anyway.)

February: African American History Month aka Black History Month
March: Women’s History Month
May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month aka APAHM
June: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month aka Pride Month
September 15-October 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month aka Latinx Heritage Month
November: American Indian Heritage Month aka Native American and First Nations Heritage Month

To explain the Smithsonian Heritage Month posts… At its inception, I only asked for people who fell under the umbrella of whatever month it was. (E.g. only someone who was APIA should write an APAHM post.) However, international friends asked about posting, and also to be honest, people weren’t volunteering and I didn’t want to keep asking the same people over and over. So I then opened it to ANYONE and EVERYONE.  You’re all welcome to write posts for ANY months. International friends, regardless of race/background. It just has to be relevant to the month (unless you fall under the umbrella month). So if you’re white I welcome you – and in fact challenge you – to step up to the place and research a person, an event, celebrate someone, whatever, and write a guest post for either Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Latinx Heritage Month, or Native American/First Nations Heritage Month.

If you’re uncertain about writing a post, you could also volunteer to write a guest review of a book by an author who would fit in any of those months. An easy way to participate!

I’m hoping to line up more posts – but  also to maybe feature previous posts which you might have missed. Through the years if you’ve followed the Smithsonian Heritage Months you might’ve noticed really interesting and different tones to posts and months too. While some might’ve slipped through – tagging the same way years apart isn’t always the easiest – you can see a lot of the old(er) posts under the  Smithsonian Heritage Month tag. Seriously – there’s a lot of excellent content there. From some fun informative posts, some “I’m tired” posts … to ones where people are raw and honest and really bare their souls.

If you’re interested in writing a post or have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or contact me via the form on the site. Thanks <3