Today is Saturday, 2/14/2026. Black History Month continues, celebrated in the United States every February to honor the achievements, culture, and history, of Black Americans, recognizing their contributions to society. Today is Valentine’s Day. Originally celebrated in memory of the day the Christian saint, St. Valentine was executed by the Roman Empire later becoming the celebration of love and romance that is observed today. Tomorrow, Sunday, 2/15/2026 through Monday, 2/16/2026 is Maha Shivaratri, the Hindu celebration of the birth of Lord Shiva. Tuesday, February 17, is the start of the holy festival of Ramadan honoring the first revelations to the Prophet Mohammed through 30 days of reflection and fasting from sun-up to sun-down. Wednesday, February 18 is Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent the Christian 46-day period of preparation for the Easter through reflection on the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Quote of the week: “Accomplishments have no color.”
Leontyne Price born February 10, 1927 – present, American opera singer.
Featured civil rights activist/abolitionist/pioneer: Leontyne Price born February 10, 1927 – present, American opera singer.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leontyne-Price
EVENTS:
1. The Rochester Downtown Development Corp (RDDC) provides a list of Black History Month Celebration. See below:
2. George Yeadon also shares information on the Black History Month virtual birthday celebration for Toni Morrison, Tuesday, February 18 @ 8:00 PM. See below for details.
3. Brian Lewis reminds us that ROC the Future’s 13th Annual State of Our Children (SOOC) event is taking place Thursday, 2/26 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at the Theater at Innovation Square. This confernce brings the community together to dismantle racist barriers and structures and support all children, especially Rochester’s public school students. They have Deputy Mayor Reyes from Tulsa OK, the first Latina mayor to serve in that role, under the leadership of Mayor Monroe Nichols, the first Black mayor of the city of Tulsa, home to Black wall street and the infamous Tulsa race massacre. See below for tickets and details.
4. Registration is now open 5th Annual Antiracist Education Conference: Action for Equality to be held, Saturday, February 28, 8:45 AM – 12:20 PM. This event is virtual and free. See below for more information and to register.
2026 Conference 8.5×11 Flyers – Google Slides
NEWS, HISTORY & RESOURCE
5. Again, this week I share an article, an item from an American by Heather Cox Richardson. This one deals with President Lincoln’s and his opposition’s argument over “…all men are created equal”. An important read.
6.Repeating Bill Wynne’s February’s essay series, #7 ‘Declaration of Independence – Consent of the Governed’
https://www.wewynneauthor.com/2026/01/30/declaration-of-independence-essay-7-consent-of-the-governed
7. We continue to repeat RMAPI’s, Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative request for your help in spreading awareness about their ‘Our Voices, Our Power’ initiative through your network. Critical safety net programs are at risk, please see the link below and sign up to receive the “stories” of impact and other information.
8. From the Medium Daily Digest, we share 3 pieces (some are Opinion pieces);
a. “Every Christian Should Read A Letter From Birmingham Jail“ by ThaBeardedVulture:
https://medium.com/the-polis/every-christian-should-read-a-letter-from-birmingham-jail-04e9ccea881d
b. “A Reminder That Black Brilliance Was Never Up for Debate“ by William Spivey:
c. “The Most Overlooked Civil‑Rights Tragedy in American Education“ by William Spivey:
9. Pat Mitchell shares two videos that can inspire:
a. ‘Buffalo Bills Rookie Honors His Big Brother During NFL’
b. ‘Former slave, U.S. Congressman and S.C. State legislator, Robert Smalls’
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Fx1F2VgNv/?mibextid=wwXIfr
10. Find the latest Urban League of Rochester’s Interrupter Newsletter.
The Interrupter Newsletter – February 12, 2026
11. Here is an article from this week’s Beacon:
a. ‘Would Susan B. Anthony be happy today?’
https://rochesterbeacon.com/2026/02/11/would-susan-b-anthony-be-happy-today/
12. Here are two articles from this week’s The Minority Reporter:
a. ‘Strings for Success to Perform Gospel Concert at City Hall to Celebrate Black History Month’
b. ‘ROC Youth Employment Network Applications Now Open’
https://www.minorityreporter.net/post/roc-youth-employment-network-applications-now-open
13. Drew Saur shares this article from the BBC; ‘Trump removes video with racist clip depicting Obamas as apes’ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8r8y78g10o
14. There are 6 articles that deal with Race, Poverty, Hate or Intolerance found in the D&C this past week.
a. Rochester Public Library offers extensive Black history resources, author talks https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/communities/rochester/2026/02/07/rochester-public-library-offers-black-history-month-resources/88548672007/
b. Nike faces probe over alleged discrimination (discrimination against white employees).
c. Police misconduct unit scaled down (not a priority with current DOJ).
d. Review: State prisons growing more violent (we still lock away more than any other country in the world)
e. Pentagon may cut ties with Scouting America (Another anti-woke move).
f. HOMELESS CRISIS RISING (Report offers 8 recommendations for Rochester leaders to act on).
OPPORTUNITIES: We share opportunities to get involved in addressing some of the communities’ challenges. Please share any opportunities for employment, assistance, grants, etc. that you are aware of with the community by sending them to “tcmitch1951@gmail.com”.
15. The Urban League of Rochester’s Scholarship Program is open. It is not too early to consider and apply. See below for information and application.
https://www.urbanleagueroc.org/scholarships
16. The Rochester Area Community Foundations Scholarship Program is now open. Check out the link below for Rochester Area Scholarships and Award Resources – Rochester Area Community Foundation
https://www.racf.org/scholarships/search-for-scholarships/
17. The Rochester Area Community Foundation also has a need and an opportunity for you to volunteer. See one of the links below to learn more and to volunteer:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=916768047374589&set=a.272551688462898
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES:
18. Support the Black Community by supporting their businesses. Please share Black businesses you support and value. A good resource is “Black Owned in Rochester”
Black Owned Businesses Rochester NY Black-Owned In Rochester (blackownedinrochester.com)
20. Support a Black newspaper, The Minority Reporter, it is inexpensive and supports the Black community.
Rochester News | Minority Reporter https://www.minorityreporter.net/
Subscribe: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/74TM2U3THP2BN
If you have an item to include in the week’s sharing we need to have it by noon on Friday.