Black History Month | How it all Began
/February is Black History Month. Throughout the month we will be shining the spotlight on the achievements of Black American’s who have paved the way and continue to blaze a trail forward. We begin our blog series at the beginning — taking a moment to recognize the birth of this important celebration.
“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better. ”
Carter G. Woodson was an American historian, author, teacher and journalist. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, and has been called the “father of black history”. Woodson was born in 1987 in Virginia, the son of former slaves. He worked in the coal mines of West Virginia before graduating from Douglass High School, afterwhich he taught at and was then appointed the principal of his alma mater. An accomplished scholar, he gratuated from Berea College in Kentucky, and later earned graduate degrees from the University of Chicago, and a PhD from Harvard University. He taught at historically black colleges, including Howard University and West Virginia State University, but spent most of his career in Washington, DC as a public speaker, writer, publisher and managing the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), which he founded in 1915.
In 1916, Woodson launched the Journal of Negro History to bring attention to the achievements of Black Americans. Then, in February 1926, Woodson announced the first Negro History Week. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize celebrations, establish history clubs, and host performances and lectures.
Woodson chose February because Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had their birthdays this month. Lincoln’s birthday was February 12. Douglass, formerly enslaved, hadn’t known his actual birthday but had marked the occasion on February 14. By the late 1960s, thanks partly to the civil rights movement, “Negro History Week” had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month. He called on the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
As we kick off Black History Month we remind our readers of the words shared by former President, Barack Obama — a sentiment we agree with 100%.
“As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s important to remember that we shouldn’t treat this month as though it is somehow separate from our collective American history. Black history is American history.”
