I found the comments by one of the young women at the end of the film the most profound. She talks about the need to find her culture and heritage. "Not knowing your culture and heritage keeps you busy searching while everyone else is throwing up what they think you should be."

Once again, stories like this cause me to reflect on why Black History Month is so important. February is a month when we deliberately try to promote the positive legacy of black Americans. It's a time when we present an uplifting picture of the black culture to stimulate a sense of potential and possibility. We consciously attempt to blot out the repeated negative images that unconsciously reinforce that skin color has something to do with physical attractiveness, normalcy, and intelligence--messages that become imprinted in the minds of black children, teenagers, and adults.

Some have questioned why we need to designate one month as Black History Month. They ask, "Shouldn't we include these stories as a part of the history of this country?" I think that Ms. Davis has answered this question by demonstrating how things change very slowly. At least in February, the light shines on the triumph and beauty within black American heritage.

One of our consultants, another beautiful black woman, saw Ms. Davis's video clip and wrote to me saying, "My hope does not rely on media suddenly waking up and overcompensating with a million positive images of people of color. My hope lies in the million positive messages I convey to my daughter, Alexis, that she is special, talented, and can do anything in this world she dreams of."