Black History has always been a big part of my life. My father was a history professor and specialized in African and African-American History. So you know Black History Month was like Halloween or Easter for my family – a big deal and a real commemoration of past, present and future.

I still celebrate Black History Month in a myriad of ways, including over at my blog JackandJillPolitics.com, which is one of the top blogs targeted at African-Americans online. This year, when my friends at MomsRising asked me to write a post for Black History Month, it got me thinking about what Black History really means to me now – in a more intimate way.

In my heart, I know that the American history of the last century in which my mother and grandmother actively participated made possible the amazing opportunities that I’ve been able to experience. Each in her turn are one of the unsung heroines of American history. My grandmother went to business school, held down a job and told me all about how she used computer punch cards for the first time. She thought my work with computers and the internet was so exciting and begged me 2 years in a row for a Roomba vacuuming robot. She also told me about the first time she saw a Model T car as a girl and loved riding in my hybrid Prius. She joined the NAACP at work during the 1940s when the fight for equal rights for African-Americans was just heating up. She was amazed to see more than one black person have the courage to run for president and lived to see the Obama family move into the White House.

My mother lived through the dismantling of segregation and was determined to embrace the new freedom to live, work and study wherever she pleased. It was through her experiences that I learned how difficult it was to walk through these newly opened doors. Her courage and compassion continues to inspire me.

Black History Month isn’t just for black people. It’s for all of us. I hope you’ll ask your mom or grandmother what it was like to live through so much social change. I hope you’ll ask them about their lives and how things have changed for women of all backgrounds in the last century. I hope you’ll ask them what their dreams are for you and for their grandchildren. We are fortunate and challenged to be living through incredible history right now. On this last day of Black History Month, know that you – whoever you are -- can and will be history come to life and a foundational inspiration for the future for your children and grandchildren. And I believe that starts with understanding and gratitude for the unsung heroes of history that are closest to us.

Cheryl Contee is a partner at Fission Strategy and co-founder of Jack and Jill Politics