What is Black History Month?
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. Here’s what to know more about the annual celebration
How did Black History month begin?
Black History Month’s first iteration was Negro History Week, created in February 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, known as the “father of Black history.” This historian helped establish the field of African American studies and his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, aimed to encourage “people of all ethnic and social backgrounds to discuss the Black experience”.
His organization was later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASAALH) and is currently the oldest historical society established for the promotion of African American history.
Why is Black History Month in February?
Initially, Black History Month was a way of teaching students and young people about Black and African-Americans’ contributions. Such stories had been largely forgotten and were a neglected part of the national narrative.
February was chosen by Woodson for the week-long observance as it coincides with the birthdates of both former US President Abraham Lincoln and social reformer Frederick Douglass. Both men played a significant role in helping to end slavery.
Woodson also understood that members of the Black community already celebrated the births of Douglass and Lincoln and sought to build on existing traditions. He was asking the public to extend their study of Black history, not to create a new tradition, as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASAALH) explains.
A national month of celebration
By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the civil-rights movement and a growing awareness of Black identity, Negro History Week was celebrated by mayors in cities across the country. Eventually, the event evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History month. In his speech, President Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history”.
Theme this year
Every year, a theme is chosen by the ASAALH, the group originally founded by Woodson. This year’s theme is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity and will explore the diasporic nature of the African family – both the individual families whose members are spread out across different states, nations and continents, but also the wider perception of the African diaspora as the “Black family at large”.
In addition, organizations like Black Lives Matter are using the month to look ahead, celebrating Black Future Month, as well as black history.
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