Beyoncé and Jay-Z - Honored with Best International Group at the 2019 Brit Awards, they recreated a scene from their music video 'APES' where they stand in front of the 'Mona Lisa,' but instead it was a photo of Meghan Markle. "In honor of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas," Queen Bey wrote.

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Spike Lee -

While accepting the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 'BlacKkKlansman,' Lee acknowledged Black History Month, which he noted was the shortest month of the year, and championed his own hero: his grandmother, who put him through school.

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Barack Obama -

Obama's recommendation lists are highly regarded, so when he released his non-fiction reading list in honor of Black History Month, it was predictably filled with gems, from James Baldwin to Isabel Wilkerson.

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Issa Rae -

At Macy's 2018 Black History Month event, the actress/writer/director emphasized that the celebration goes on all 365 days of the year. She also spoke about the next step after getting black stories heard, which is sharing stories that "aren't limited to one specific black experience," so including LGBTQ or continental stories, for example.

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Mahershala Ali -

The Oscar winner curated a Black History Month-inspired playlist for Apple Music, which featured songs that helped him get into the characters of other black men, and which contributed to his "exploration of the diverse and beautifully complex black identity."

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Laverne Cox -

The actress wrote an essay for Time in 2019 celebrating two of her idols: opera singers Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, who broke color barriers in the operatic world. Cox wrote that the richness of black culture that persisted through slavery is why she remains optimistic.

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Yara Shahidi - The activist and actress celebrated Black History Month in 2018 by paying homage to black girl magic, with an open letter and video both titled 'To Be a Black Girl.'

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Lena Waithe -

The actress and creator of 'The Chi' wrote an essay for Time in 2019 on the "black renaissance" of Hollywood, celebrating those "trying to rip up what it means to be black and successful in Hollywood and rebuild it afresh," but adding how much further the industry still has to go.

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Tracee Ellis Ross - The 'Black-ish' actress directed the series' "Black History Month" episode, and told Variety: "It's not about celebrating for just one moment; it's about liberating and empowering the different stories and different voices so we can all be lifted up by them as a culture—not just as black people."

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Nas - The rapper celebrated Black History Month by teaming up with Google Arts & Culture to pay tribute to black musicians like Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, who have changed history and influenced him as an artist. "Our music has been a relentless advocate for our story," he said.

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Rihanna - In the same year President Donald Trump revealed he thought Frederick Douglass was still alive, RiRi posted a photo saying, "I'm black every month," and shared love for her peers Beyoncé and Taraji P. Henson.

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Ava DuVernay - The director challenged her Twitter followers to "name a song and artist that you love but it's safe to assume your Caucasian friend, family, coworker, neighbor, whatever, has no idea even exists. But should." She chose 'If You Were Here Tonight,' by Alexander O'Neal.

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Michelle Obama - Along with paying tribute to historical figures, the former First Lady drew attention to the young people "who stand on the shoulders of the giants we celebrate this month while also building a legacy of their own," she wrote.

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Viola Davis -

The actress took to Instagram to commemorate Black History Month with a quote from legendary author Maya Angelou: "The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are."

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Jada Pinkett-Smith - The actress and 'Red Table Talk' host tweeted a photo of actor Billy Porter in a gown-tuxedo hybrid at the 2019 Oscars and thanked him "for saving Black History month."

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Morgan Freeman -

The veteran actor famously said he didn't want a Black History Month because black history is American history.

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Gabrielle Union -

In 2014 after Stacey Dash said BET and Black History Month should be eliminated, Union told the Associated Press that separate honors are only created when you don't see yourself reflected in the mainstream. "The more that we focus on inclusion and a true representation of this country, I think that crazy lady will have less to say."

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Shonda Rhimes - For Black History Month, the TV mogul celebrated Fannie Lou Hamer, "a women's rights activist, community organizer, and leader in the civil rights movement," Rhimes wrote on Twitter.

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John David Washington -

The 'BlacKkKlansman' actor created a Black History Month-inspired playlist for Apple Music in 2019, explaining: "Music serves as a mechanism that initiates the purest sense of self and self-discovery and experiences of escapism."

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Janelle Monáe - In 2018, the singer helped Spotify launch a black history hub spotlighting diverse and progressive artists. She curated the first month, and said it was important to her to keep the celebration going year-round. "I've always been excited and inspired to try to redefine how we're seen."

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Samuel L. Jackson -

The famed actor gave a speech at Harvard-Westlake School's Black History Month Assembly in 2013, inspiring a huge number of young black people with lessons about his past, from civil rights activism, to addiction, to how he found success.

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Sen. Kamala Harris - The US politician tweeted, "Like so many others, I stand on the shoulders of giants like Shirley Chisholm. Unbought and unbossed, she had the guts to speak truth—no matter how uncomfortable. She was an American icon."

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Carmelo Anthony - The NBA player tweeted a celebration of the trailblazers and torch-carriers of black history, adding photos of both Althea Gibson—the first black tennis player to win Wimbledon, and the French and US Open—and Serena Williams.

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Daymond John -

The founder, president, and CEO of FUBU, who appears as an investor on the reality television series 'Shark Tank,' tweeted that the greats like "Rosa, Martin, Thurgood, Frederick, Maya, Harriet, Malcolm, Barack, Jackie," should be celebrated every day.

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Mo'Nique - The comedian and actress told Detroit's Local 4 News that she refuses to only celebrate her blackness for 28 days a year. She also encouraged people to not just celebrate stars you've never met, but also the people in your life who inspire you daily.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar - The US Congresswoman tweeted a quote from author Ta-Nehisi Coates for Black History Month: "You are growing into consciousness, and my wish for you is that you feel no need to constrict yourself to make other people comfortable."

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Ashley Walters - The UK 'Top Boy' actor paid tribute to fellow British actor Lennie James on Instagram (using the popular hashtag #ShareBlackStories), thanking him for being the first person to cast him in a film when he transitioned from music, and sharing how inspiring it was to "[see] a black man control his own destiny."

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Vashti Harrison -

The writer and illustrator kicked off what she called "the most magical time of the year" by drawing Aaron Douglas, a "leading artist of the Harlem Renaissance" who developed an iconic graphic style that helped redefine how black people could imagine themselves.

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Octavia Spencer -

At the beginning of Black History Month in 2019, the actress revealed on Instagram that she would buy out an entire Mississippi theater for underprivileged youth to view 'Black Panther,' "to ensure that all our brown children can see themselves as a superhero."

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How stars celebrate Black History Month

Their tributes, personal heroes, and cultural contributions

04/02/20 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Hollywood

Hollywood has been notoriously slow in the move towards equality, and sometimes it can seem like for every step forward, there’s two steps back. But with momentum gaining in the mainstream, Black History Month has become ever more important as part of the proven success of representation—feeling seen and heard, and rightfully awarded.

That’s why so many black celebrities have joined in the conversation about this (sometimes controversial) month, sharing their own ways of celebrating black excellence from past, present, and even future. Click through to see what celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and Rihanna have said, shared, and celebrated as part of Black History Months past.