Looking around the Internet and stores, the most obvious signs of Black History Month are ethnically targeted marketing. That’s what advertisers do, I guess. But the original idea was a good one: call attention to people whom older histories tended to ignore.

Writers might get some ideas from looking at black historical figures they admire. Let me just list three:

Ona Judge: Her story is not only black history but New Hampshire history, so it’s local for me. A slave under President George Washington, she escaped to Portsmouth. Washington sent men to bring her back, but the strong anti-slavery sentiments in the city stymied them. Live free or die! She should be considered one of the first Free Staters.

Frederick Douglass: He educated himself, escaped from slavery, and fought against it. He pointed out the deficiency in Fourth of July celebrations that declared “all men are created equal” but excluded slaves.

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington: His name may seem odd after the first two, but not everything is about life-and-death struggles. He played a major part in shaping jazz, the most distinctively American kind of music. He’s best known for short, popular pieces but also wrote longer works, including the suite “Black, Brown, and Beige.”

If you’re looking to write a Black History Month article, pick a person or topic that interests you, not just one that satisfies a checklist. There are lots of great choices.