{"id":54775,"date":"2026-02-06T20:20:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smps.org\/?p=54775"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:30:57","slug":"celebrating-black-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smps.org\/2026\/02\/06\/celebrating-black-history-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Black History Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"54775\" class=\"elementor elementor-54775\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-13bac6e2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"13bac6e2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-692c7890\" data-id=\"692c7890\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ecb5f03 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ecb5f03\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BlackHistoryMonth_5WEBSITE-BLOG-HEADER-1024x456.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-54774\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BlackHistoryMonth_5WEBSITE-BLOG-HEADER-1024x456.png 1024w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BlackHistoryMonth_5WEBSITE-BLOG-HEADER-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BlackHistoryMonth_5WEBSITE-BLOG-HEADER-768x342.png 768w, https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BlackHistoryMonth_5WEBSITE-BLOG-HEADER.png 1281w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4838f1c7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4838f1c7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong><em>Honoring Those Who\u2019ve Paved the Way<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>Some of the most powerful contributions to our world were made quietly, without headlines, recognition, or celebration. They exist in the systems we rely on every day, guiding, protecting, and moving us forward, often without others knowing who made them possible. That truth is what this season of reflection is all about.<\/p><p>This time invites us to pause and acknowledge the brilliance that has long shaped our society, even when it wasn\u2019t acknowledged in the moment. It\u2019s personal because it affirms that Black excellence has always existed, reminding me that progress is not accidental. It\u2019s the result of resilience, intellect, and perseverance in the face of barriers meant to limit access and opportunity.<\/p><p>That perspective became especially real when I learned about Dr. Gladys Mae West, a pioneering Black mathematician whose work was foundational to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). She recently passed away at age 95. Her story mirrors the experiences of so many: extraordinary impact, limited recognition, lasting influence. Her work continues to guide millions every day, even though her name was unknown to most for decades.<\/p><p>Professionally and personally, her legacy challenges me to think about impact beyond visibility: purpose matters, even when recognition is delayed. This season calls upon us to honor those who\u2019ve paved the way by leading with intention, advocating with clarity, and creating space for others. This time isn\u2019t only about remembering history. It\u2019s about recognizing responsibility, honoring legacy, and continuing the work with courage and pride.<\/p><p><em>Article written by Anita L. Smith, manager of advancement and recognition at SMPS.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Honoring Those Who\u2019ve Paved the Way Some of the most powerful contributions to our world were made quietly, without headlines, recognition, or celebration. They exist in the systems we rely on every day, guiding, protecting, and moving us forward, often without others knowing who made them possible. That truth is what this season of reflection [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":54774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[675],"tags":[956,645,957],"class_list":["post-54775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-staff","tag-anita-l-smith","tag-black-history-month","tag-celebrating-black-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54775"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54785,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54775\/revisions\/54785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}