Abigail Cushman, Centerfold/Special Projects Editor
@abigailccourant
Since 1915, Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, has been a remembrance and celebration of the people and events that have brought the country and world closer to racial equality over time. During the month of February, the United States’ Black History Month, Americans also reflect on how far the country has to go, while celebrating accomplished black members of society. Black History Month has come to be a way in which the nation and world can hold itself accountable for the continuation of progress that has been made over decades, but how did this month come to be?
In 1865, under President Abraham Lincoln, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery in America. Half a century later, in September of 1915, Historian Carter Woodson and Minister Jesse Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (today known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). In 1916, The Journal of Negro History was issued by that organization, and in 1926, the organization sponsored a national Negro History Week to celebrate during the second week of February, as it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and activist Frederick Douglass.
The week initially emphasized the importance of teaching African American History. The State Departments of Education of “every state with considerable Negro population” made Negro History Week known to those states’ teachers and distributed literature associated with Negro History Week. Churches and mainstream and Black press also contributed to this publicity effort.
In 1933, Woodson published The Mis-Education of the Negro, a book that said, “If you teach the Negro that he has accomplished as much good as any other race he will aspire to equality and justice without regard to race. Such an effort would upset the program of the oppressor in Africa and America.” These writings contributed to the importance of Negro History Week and contributed to its growth in popularity over the following decades.
By February 1969, mayors of nationwide cities were recognizing Negro History Week. Black educators began to propose a Black History Month, and in 1970 the first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State University from January 2 to February 28. In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially declared February Black History Month, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Since 1976, Black History Month has been allocated a specific theme. This year’s Black History Month focuses on “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.” Only after four Civil Rights Acts, three Amendments to the US Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, Brown versus Board of Education, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, Rosa Parks, the Greensboro Four, and many others, could people such as Madam CJ Walker, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and President Barack Obama even have the opportunity to achieve all that they did. With Black History Month, America can ensure that these efforts, achievements, and people are never to be forgotten as the country continues to strive towards more racial equality and a more perfect union.
