Happy New Year! Starting this year, the DEIA Communications team will be sending monthly emails about upcoming diversity awareness events recognized either nationally or internationally due to their cultural, historical, or religious significance. See below for several diversity dates to be aware of in the month of January.
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The significance of January originates from the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, declaring 3.1 million slaves free. The month is dedicated to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking and educating people about this crime and how to spot it. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of State website.
Poverty in America Awareness Month
Poverty is a complex social issue that affects people at a national and international scale. During the month of January, Poverty Awareness Month aims to raise awareness and shine a light on the growing levels of poverty in America. Through a variety of organizations and advocates, Poverty Awareness Month’s goal is to analyze, understand, and support solutions to ending poverty. You can make a difference in the fight to end poverty by supporting nonprofits and raising awareness for the need to end poverty for good. Please consider donating to or volunteering at a local food bank, soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
World Braille Day
January 4 is World Braille Day. It is celebrated on this day to honor the birth of Louis Braille, the inventor of the touch reading and writing system. Recognizing World Braille Day reminds us of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for the blind, deafblind, and partially sighted communities. For more information, visit the United Nations World Braille Day website.
The Significance of Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is celebrated on January 14. Makar Sankranti is the first major harvest festival to be celebrated in India because it is recognized as both a religious as well as seasonal observance dedicated to Lord Surya, the Sun God. Makar Sankranti marks the close of the Winter season and the beginning of a new harvest season. Social activities include colorful decorations, children singing, dances, kite flying, bonfires and feasts. To learn more, visit the Makar Sankranti 2021: History, Significance & Importance website.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Civil Rights Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday and day of service in the United States created to honor the life and legacy of the renowned civil rights leader, who advocated the use of nonviolent means to protest segregation and other forms of racial injustice. The most influential of African American civil rights leaders during the 1960s, he was instrumental in securing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, following its passage into law. The holiday is observed annually on the third Monday in January.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Every year on January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirm the commitment to fighting antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hatred and violence. January 27th marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops in 1945. As of November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 27th as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, also known as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. For more information, visit the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization website.
Upcoming Awareness Communications
The DEIA Communications team will send out the following awareness communications this month:
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Civil Rights Day
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day