Black History Month is more than a sunset of 28 days. The annual monthly commemoration is a significant opportunity to reflect on the impact of black heritage and culture on our hemisphere and the world. It is not reserved for the classroom. It does not belong singularly to black people. And it certainly should be cause for celebration. Pause.

Unfortunately, for many in our world, we have not fully confronted this issue of race and the amount of melanin that colors our skin.

Thanks to the course of history for centuries, the voluntary and involuntary removal of African peoples from the continent has changed the trajectory and echoes of history forever. There is relatively no nation on Earth that has not subsumed the DNA of African people from tribes such as Yoruba, Igbo and Congo, but also Arará, Carabalí, Mandingo, Fula, Makua. From the Americas to the Caribbean, the Middle East to Europe, the history of black people is etched in our existence. This history pervades our language, religion, music, culinary traditions, and our every breath. Can you imagine Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti or the United States of America without the historical impact of people of color, of every shade or hue?

For this simple reason, this Black History Month, I firmly believe that the time has arrived to deliberately broaden the view of what it means to be “Black in the Americas.”

For every child who has been blessed with any ounce of melanin in their skin, it is critical for them to understand the breadth of their ancestral history. Over centuries, the majority of their ancestors from sub-equatorial Africa have traveled across the span of oceans mostly against their own will. This dispersal through the slave trade represented one of the largest forced migrations in human history. Though others were transported to Middle and Near East, the majority made their way to the West.

Today, Brazil, United States, Colombia, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Cuba boast some of the largest populations of persons of African descent in the world. As a result, the concept of being African American in America assumes a new complexion due to the assumed migration of persons from these countries. Black history multiplies its meaning and influence.

The socio-economic impact of this history in all of the above countries on generations of persons of African descent and beyond cannot be understated or forgotten. Notwithstanding these historical circumstances, black people have not only stood resilient, but have also made significant contributions to the cultures of their abode or adoption at every level of society. From the advent of myriad of musical genres on your smartphone or the flavors of our dinner tables each day, we are infused with black culture. This is your history. Our history.

As citizens of the hemisphere, the history of our neighbors has inherited both the plight and successes of black people. It is an undeniable history. Unfortunately, the vestiges of slavery also leave our mental psyche crippled across generations. As such it will take a deliberate effort of people of goodwill to undo the damage of this history. Likewise, our history will also shine on those persons of courage across the hemisphere who confronted oppression or injustice wherever it raised its head. This is your history. Our history.

This history is further complicated by misconceived notions of language and ethnicity. In this regard, we find ourselves drawing conclusions of our heritage lost in geographic accents or presumptions in Anglophone or Francophone surnames. As the generations pass, we also deepen the interconnectivity of our history in the mingling of our DNA through marriage or cross cultural relationships. As a result, for example in Brazil, we retain various references to what it means to be black in the Americas, whether “preto” (black) or “pardo” (multiracial, brown). Race continues to capture and distract our imagination. Run towards it. Otherwise, it will find you somewhere in life.

Before we can celebrate the notables in our black history of the Americas — such as Cuban musical legends Celia Cruz or Ibrahim Ferrer, Brazilian writer Machado de Assis and musician Milton Nascimento, Haiti’s freedom fighter Touissaint Louverture and civil rights leader W.E.B. Dubois or Jamaica’s pan-African advocate Marcus Garvey and music icon Bob Marley — we must pause to reflect on the unique transcendence and transformation of the history on our contemporary society. Black is not simply the color of another’s face. Being black brings centuries of pains, joys, challenges, successes and cultural nuances. I urge you to take the time to listen more carefully to some of the real ancestral voices of this Black History Month. This could be your neighbor, co-worker, business partner, constituent, and even a family member. I promise you that history will irreversibly reward you.

Marlon A. Hill is a corporate attorney with the law firm of delancyhill, P.A. and a civic commentator on WZAB 880AM, Caribbean Riddims, D’ Peoples Politics, Saturdays at 4 p.m.