Unlike most holidays in the US, which are Eurocentric and have been commercialized, Black Love Day is unique to Black culture in America.
Ayo Handy-Kendi, affectionately called Mama Ayo, created Black Love Day in 1993, inspired by Spike Lee’s movie, Malcolm X. It was “a value system based on principles, like Kwanzaa.The five tenets were: showing love for the creator, showing love for self, showing love for the Black family, the Black community and the race.” (Handy-Kendi.)
In 1994 Handy-Kendi added a ritual of forgiveness and reconciliation to Black Love Day following the death of her 17 year old son.
Ayo Handy-Kendi, affectionately called Mama Ayo, founded the African American Holiday Association in the early 80s. Handy-Kendi invites White people to participate in Black Love Day by “showing love through action.” White people, she said, “could begin to inspect their own prejudices and begin to make an effort to have real quality conversations with people that didn’t look like them.” New York Times, February 2024
Interested in learning more about the Love One Another initiative? Visit the archives.
