President's Message: Celebrate Black History Month

Dear MNA Members and Fellow Nursing Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that the Maryland Nurses Association kicks off the 2024 celebration of Black History Month.

I want to begin by quoting the beautiful poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”  I feel this quote needs to run deep in the veins of people across the globe as we face the challenges of today’s society.

The history of our America—Black History Month as the deep roots form a stem that branches off to resilience, strength, empowerment, and excellence of all those past and present from the African soil.  This is the honest American story of true courage and perseverance in the setting of continuing persistence, adversity topped with additional hardship for years.

We celebrate Black History Month every year because the entire history has not been told to date. It is the responsibility of the present and future generations to learn and to grow from the history we are understanding more of by talking about black history.  We need to continue our walk together every day. America will only thrive as united when we understand each other and honor our history to live a fruitful and loving life for all.  I believe the understanding of people and love is what the nursing profession demonstrates every day as nurses care for countless lives across the United States and globally.

I hope you enjoy Black History Month as we march forward towards a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive future.

All my best and with love,

Lou J. Bartolo, DNP, MSN, RN

President, Maryland Nurses Association