Black Love Day Date in the current year: February 13, 2026

Black Love Day was created by spiritual community organizer Ayo Handy-Kendi, also known as “Mama Ayo”. On New Year’s Eve 1992, she watched Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington as the renowned African-American civil rights leader who was assassinated by his own people. On her bus ride home, she felt guided by a higher power, whom she referred to as “the Creator”, to organize Black Love Day to foster unity in the African-American community.

The date she chose for the new holiday is symbolic for two reasons. First, February is observed as Black History Month in the United States and Canada. Second, February 13 precedes Valentine’s Day, a commercialized celebration of romantic love. Black Love Day was intentionally scheduled for this day to provide an alternative to Valentine’s Day that emphasizes self-love, collective responsibility, and community care.

Black Love Day does not reject romance outright; rather, it reminds us that romantic love is just one kind of love. It views love as a responsibility that is demonstrated through actions such as caring for oneself and others. This is reflected in five tenets of Black Love Day: love for the Creator, self-love, love for family, love within the Black community, and love for Black people. Celebrating Black Love Day means acknowledging and acting on these tenets throughout the day. Every year, the celebration has a new theme linked to one of these five tenets.

After losing her 17-year-old son to violence in 1994, Handy-Kendi incorporated a reconciliation ritual called a relationship ceremony into the celebration. During this ritual, people apologize for wronging others or choose to forgive those who have wronged them, either privately or in front of others. During the first ceremony, Handy-Kendi forgave the person who killed her son.

Black Love Day is not exclusively celebrated by African Americans. White people can participate by examining their prejudices, racial attitudes and white privilege, showing respect for the Black community, supporting Black-owned businesses, and making an effort to connect with people who look different from them. Handy-Kendi faced backlash from some in the Black community when she revised the last tenet to include non-Black people. However, she believed it was important to encourage white people to demonstrate love through action.

The symbol of Black Love Day is the akoma, which means “heart” in Akan. It is one of the Adinkra symbols used by the Akan people of Ghana to represent different concepts and messages. The akoma symbolizes patience, endurance, tolerance, humility, and emotional self-control. It is associated with the inner strength needed to remain compassionate under pressure. On Black Love Day, participants greet each other with the phrase “Nya Akoma”. The literal translation is “get a heart”, but the phrase actually means “be patient”.