In 1926, a historian looked at the American narrative and realized something sobering: Black people were present in every chapter of this nation’s development, yet largely absent from the textbooks. So he decided to do something about it. This 26th day of Black History Month, we are not simply celebrating a tradition. We are marking one hundred years of narrative correction. One hundred years of saying: We will not be edited out.

On this day during Black History Month, we honor the life of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951—and whose biological contribution has saved millions of lives around the world.