“You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.” History shows this pattern again and again. Individuals who challenged injustice were often targeted, silenced, or removed from public life. What did not disappear were the ideas they introduced—ideas that continued to circulate, influence, and shape future generations.Ideas move differently than people. Once shared, they no longer belong to one person or one moment. They are carried through teaching, organizing, writing, and memory. Attempts to suppress them may delay change, but rarely erase it.Many figures honored today were controversial in their own time. Their ideas were labeled dangerous because they questioned accepted systems and demanded transformation. Over time, those ideas outlasted the resistance they faced and became part of history itself.During Black History Month, this reminds us why so many stories endure long after efforts were made to silence them.