Then and Now: Celebrating 100 years of honoring Black History Month

Written by our Blackboard Global Leads: Chante Dyson, Gena Sherwood, Kirsten Brown Aidoo, Kelsey Lemons and Shanice Sintim-Aboagye 

We’re recapping a month of celebrating the 100th Black History Month commemoration. Aligning to the theme “Then & Now,” our Blackboard community came together, both in-person and virtually, to celebrate, connect, and honor Black achievement. In this article, you’ll learn more about the theme, explore our local activations and meet one of our members. 

2026 Theme: Then & Now

A century ago, Black communities began carving out a month to honor the stories, moments, and triumphs that have shaped the very fabric of culture itself. This year, we were proud to launch “Then & Now: Celebrating 100 Years,” a campaign that looks both back and forward to honor the legacy and evolution of Black culture, creativity, and achievement across the globe.

Throughout the month, the theme showed up in unique ways for us. Blackboard executive sponsors, global leads, and members shared photos from their own childhood, showcasing treasured memories with family and friends and giving us a glimpse into their own history.

Blackboard members had the opportunity to receive one of two special “Then & Now” celebration boxes designed to honor and preserve their family legacies. One invites you to see your family through a new lens, reflecting on a century of captured memories and transforming everyday moments into living history. The other encourages you to listen to your family’s story like never before, sparking meaningful conversations, surfacing hidden memories, and uplifting the voices that shaped who you are today. Together, these boxes helped celebrate Black History Month by deepening connections to the past while creating new stories for the future.

Recognizing Black History Month across our offices

• Atlanta: Blackboard members in Atlanta came together for a mantra candle-making session and dinner catered by a local Black-owned restaurant. 
• San Francisco: Employees in the Bay Area explored Black history, art and culture in a guided tour of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD), followed by dinner at an Ethiopian Afro-fusion restaurant.
• Toronto: Our Toronto Blackboard team celebrated Black artistry with an inspiring Ankara beaded jewelry workshop and partnered with ERGs from local tech companies for an evening of networking, storytelling, and community-building. 
• Chicago: Blackboard members teamed up with two tech companies for a vision boarding event, building community and creating meaningful, personal boards in a creative, energizing atmosphere. The session set a powerful tone for the year, leaving everyone with renewed purpose and clear goals.
• Los Angeles: The LA Blackboard community gathered for a special evening at a restaurant and jazz lounge. The team enjoyed great food, meaningful conversation, and community-building, with special guest and executive sponsor Malik Ducard, making the night truly memorable.
• Virtually: Rounding out the month, our leads hosted a fireside chat with Simone Wright, a community image activist, during the global Blackboard meeting. This event left members with an important message around honoring the history of our roots, and powerfully underscored that our hair tells a story of identity, resilience, and legacy.

Upcoming events: 

• New York City: Our New York office will host a fireside chat with Kahlil Greene, the Gen Z historian, where he’ll share his journey, personal reflections, and practical ways we can celebrate Black history every day. This event will be live streamed to our global offices. Afterwards, Blackboard members will dine at a local restaurant in the city, taking a moment to build connections across teams at Pinterest. 
• São Paulo: In Brazil, the team will celebrate two inspirational Black authors, reflecting on key takeaways and lessons from their work. 

Blackboard Member Spotlight: Brittany Boyd shares her “Then & Now”

Each December, our holiday family portraits are more than just photographs, they record the story of becoming. What began as a spontaneous holiday portrait years ago has quietly evolved into a cherished ritual, capturing the growing narrative of our family.

Every frame holds the history of our beginnings—the first year as husband and wife, the first winter as parents. Over time, these portraits have become visual chapters in our family’s journal, charting how love gathers, expands, and takes shape year after year.

Now, as I watch my children take their places in front of the lens, I see more than their reflection—I see the genesis of a tradition they will one day carry forward. These portraits are more than images; they are the foundation of a legacy, quietly ensuring that the story of our family will continue to unfold, one winter moment at a time.

Thank you to all of our Blackboard members and allies who took time throughout the month to celebrate and honor Black history with us.