When I woke up this morning, I used the toilet (T. Elkins) before stepping into the shower and lathering with soap (George Washington Carver).

I straightened, curled and tamed my locks (Walter Sammons, Madame C.J. Walker) and grabbed some clothes from my dresser (John H. Jordan).

While driving down Lumpkin Street to school, I stopped at several traffic lights (Garrett Morgan).

Once I arrived at the Student Learning Center, I took the elevator (Alexander Miles) to the second floor – yes, I am one of those people.

And before class began, my dull pencil needed a run in the sharpener (John L. Love).

When executing these daily rituals, it is likely you and I don’t realize the hundreds of inventions that are courtesy of those with black skin.

Today marks the seventh day in what has become known as Black History Month.

This month-long celebration began as a Negro History Week in 1926. Carter G. Woodson, director of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, selected a week in February during which Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were born.

The association would choose a theme for the annual observance and provide materials for people to study the Negro history of the particular topic.

In the 1960s, the recognition of the rich history of my people was extended to the entire month of February.

This year’s theme of “Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism” provides evidence that this month is not a tradition exclusively for blacks.

Black History Month should be important to all students and this is why: until the history of all people is well-incorporated into school lessons and our American culture, there is and will be a need for this time of reflection and remembrance.

- Juanita Cousins is the first black female editor-in-chief of The Red & Black.