The month of February is used to celebrate black history and achievements. It’s important to celebrate the strides that were made back then such as those by Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., but it’s equally as important to acknowledge the firsts and breakthroughs that are still happening today.

While many may think of history as the past, there is still history being made. In this past year alone, there were many firsts in politics, entertainment, and sports.

In politics, this past year has seen many breakthroughs in diversity, with the biggest one being the historical firsts of the 116th Congress.

In January, the most diverse Congress the U.S. has ever seen was sworn in. Massachusetts and Connecticut are sending African American women to Congress for the first time in their state history, and fifty-seven Black Americans were sworn in overall.

Jahana Haynes, a former public school teacher, was the representative elected to Congress by Connecticut and joined one hundred other freshmen members of Congress in Washington this January. In Texas, seventeen black women are making history after being elected as judges in Harris County, the largest county in Texas that includes Houston. The women ran a “Black Girl Magic” campaign to campaign for more black judges. The elections of these politicians represent the diversity of our country, and though there is still a long way to go, this is a huge step forward.

In entertainment, the film “Black Panther,” a movie that celebrates black culture with an all-black cast was released in early 2018. In the awards season, the film has been nominated for two-hundred and seven awards, including seven Academy Awards. This film made great strides within the entertainment industry.

It was a celebration of black culture and excellence, focusing on a fictional country in Africa known as “Wakanda,” which to the world looked like a third world country, but in reality, was the most advanced country in the world.

This premise allowed the movie to explore how African history would look differently without Western exploitation. It was a huge success in the box office, earning 1.3 billion in total, making it the highest grossing film by a black director and the highest grossing superhero film ever.

This film was very important in terms of minority representation. For the first time, young black kids could see themselves on the screen in a positive light, represented in Hollywood.

In the Super Bowl, for the first time in NFL history, there were male cheerleaders who happened to be black Americans. On the biggest stage in sports history, Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies were among twelve other cheerleaders that performed. They made history at the beginning of the season being among three other male cheerleaders to cheer in the NFL for the first time.

While they are making great progress for the representation of the diversity of our country, Peron and Jinnies have faced a lot of criticism for being male cheerleaders. They have been open about their adversity, wanting to spread their story.

This past year has seen many firsts in terms of black history. It is exciting to see the breakthroughs and to finally see representation, and while things have a long way to go, these are good steps forward.