News and Views

The erasure of history simply compounds inequity.

On February 15, 2023, WATSON’s Alicia Williams spoke at a community event for Black History Month on the importance of history and storytelling for Black and other marginalized communities. She spoke about how the erasure of that history prevents people from knowing the many who came before and accomplished great things despite obstacles, and prevents people from outside of those groups from understanding, acknowledging, and appreciating the valuable contributions that have been made in our collective society.

It’s important to be able to see representations of people who look like you to know what is possible. For those groups whose histories are not told, it is like having to start from scratch to build it.

Thank you, Alicia, for sharing your story, and inviting us all to think about the stories we tell and are told.