Editor's Note: theGrio's new black history section

Next week it'll be that time of year again -- when the images of Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and Civil Rights era marches are dragged out of the archives to "celebrate" Black History Month. But nowadays it seems as if the month has been reduced to a mere courtesy rather than a period of sincere reflection on the influence Africa and her descendants have had on this great nation of ours.

theGrio.com was created to tell the many stories from our community's past and present. We understand the importance of black history and recognize that the 28 days of February cannot capture all of its rich stories and lessons. So beginning Monday we will launch theGrio's "Our History" section which will live and be updated year round. It will host what will eventually be one of the largest sources for black history multimedia content on the Web.

We also understand that celebrating black history is less about remembering yesteryear than it is about creating context for today - and hope for tomorrow. So, to honor the future of African-American history, on February 1st, theGrio.com will also launch "theGrio's 100: History Makers in the Making." This exclusive list highlights the next generation of African-American history makers and industry leaders. The 100 individuals selected, each with their own path to success, are from ten fields - including business, education, sports, science and the environment, media, service and activism, politics, health, pop culture, and the arts.

The individuals, selected by theGrio's editorial team with input from a team of experts and NBC News, have the potential to make a difference in the lives of all Americans in the future.

Kicking off on with "Meet the Press" on Sunday, January 31st and running through February 6th, individuals from "TheGrio's 100" will be featured on all platforms of NBC News, including CNBC, MSNBC, msnbc.com, "Today" and "NBC Nightly News."

In addition to original video profiles and other exclusive video content, theGrio.com will aggregate black history-related videos from several NBC partners. NBC Learn and local NBC affiliates station across the country will contribute dozens of videos to the 'Our History' section of the site.

We'll also ask you to become involved. During the month of February, you will be able to submit trailblazers in your own life and community as 'History Makers in the Making.' These selected individuals will also be featured on our site.

We are truly excited about what we have in store for next month and beyond. As always, we look forward to continuing to provide you with breaking news and opinion on issues that reflect and affect our community, and now we look forward to sharing stories from our history.

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