Stratford's Donald Smart, one of the first Black Americans in the 20th century to graduate from Harvard College, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, says Black History Month may be over, but young people should be mindful of its lessons year-round.

"If you don't know where you've been, you can't know where you're going," Smart told News 12."History is influenced by great leaders, but history is made by ordinary everyday Americans - and their individual contributions are often overlooked, sadly."

Smart says his parents "were part of the Great Migration of Black Americans from Florida and Georgia in the 1940s."

"And they always encouraged me to do my best. I'm grateful to Stratford Public Schools, which gave me every possible advantage - so when I got to Harvard, I was ready," Smart said. "Black history is American history, and that's the big lesson of Black History Month."