Black History Month 2026: Honouring Our Communities

This Black History Month, the theme is honouring our communities.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what that actually means. When we talk about the Black community, it can sometimes sound like we are talking about one big, unified group. But my experience has been that some of the most meaningful parts of being Black have come from the smaller communities within that wider community: the people who understand certain parts of your experience without you having to explain them, the people who push you when you need pushing, and the people who remind you that you don’t have to do everything alone.

I’ve personally been so supported by so many different sub-communities throughout my life, so I wanted to use this Black History Month to shout out a few of them.

Melanin Medics

It feels only right to start here.

Melanin Medics has given me something I didn’t realise I was missing when I first joined: a Black community outside of my own medical school.

Medical school can be quite an isolating experience, and being one of a smaller number of Black students can sometimes make that feeling even stronger. Melanin Medics has given me the opportunity to meet Black medical students, doctors and aspiring medics from across the country and to see the sheer breadth of what we are doing.

From team away days to conferences, advocacy and simply seeing people who look like me doing amazing things, it has genuinely reminded me that Black excellence is real.

But more than that, I think what I value most is being part of a community that pushes me to do more. It is inspiring to see people who are passionate about medicine, leadership, representation and creating opportunities for the people coming after them. It’s a reminder that our journeys don’t have to be individual ones. We can build something together.

ACMS and the Black medics at my university: aka the ‘Dr Blackies’

I can’t talk about my medical school experience without talking about this group.

In first year, a group chat was made for all of the Black medical student freshers. It was essentially an offshoot of ACS, and somehow, several years later, we are still here. Over the years, we’ve gone to ACMS events together, joined committees, shared resources, had study sessions and supported each other through the inevitable chaos of medical school. And, because we are still students and not everything has to be about studying, we’ve also planned our own halfway dinner, Secret Santa and games night.

There’s something really special about having people who have grown alongside you. We started medical school together. We’ve watched each other change, struggle, succeed, make questionable academic decisions and somehow make it to final year.

This community has genuinely helped me through medical school in a way that I don’t think I could have fully appreciated at the beginning. It’s one thing to have friends at university. It’s another to have people who share an experience that can sometimes feel quite unique. I’m very grateful that first-year me had the sense to join that group chat.

My church community

As a medic, I think it is particularly important to have something outside of medicine that keeps you grounded.

For me, that has been my church community. My church has been a place where I’ve been able to grow in my faith, be supported through different seasons of life and make friendships that I hope will last for many years.

But I also think there is something particularly valuable about having a community that exists completely outside of the university bubble.

There are students, yes, but there are also people who have been working for decades, people who have raised children, people who have been married for years, grandparents, aunties and uncles. People who have lived through things that I simply haven’t had the opportunity to experience yet.

And sometimes you need that. It is easy, particularly as a young person, to become surrounded by people who are at exactly the same stage of life as you. Having people who can offer wisdom from a completely different perspective has been invaluable to me.

My church community has reminded me that I am more than a medical student. It has given me somewhere to grow, serve, ask questions, laugh, pray and simply exist without having to be productive.

My family

And finally, my family.

I think sometimes we can overlook family when we talk about our communities because they can feel like the obvious answer. But I think that is exactly why they are worth honouring. My family keeps me grounded.

They remind me that there is a whole world outside of grades, careers, achievements and whatever the latest thing is that I’m stressing about. They remind me how much I am loved.

And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised that staying connected to family takes intention. You can’t assume that because someone is family, the relationship will automatically stay close. Sometimes you have to call. Check in. Make the journey. Ask how someone is doing. Be present.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the people who have known me for the longest.

Honouring our communities

When I think about these communities, they all give me something slightly different.

Some have helped me professionally. Some have helped me academically. Some have strengthened my faith. Some have given me friendship. Some have simply reminded me that I am loved.

But together, they have shown me the importance of community.

There is something powerful about being surrounded by people who want to see you do well and who are willing to help you get there. And I think one of the most beautiful things about Black communities is the way that support can extend across generations, institutions and different stages of life.

So this Black History Month, I want to honour the communities that have carried me. The people who have encouraged me, challenged me, prayed for me, studied with me, laughed with me, opened doors for me and reminded me that I don't have to walk alone.

Which community are you honouring this Black History Month?

Written by Precious Oluwaniyi, Final Year Medical Student & MM Communications and Impact Officer