February is Black History Month in the United States, Canada and Germany. The celebration was initiated by Carter G. Woodson, a visionary born in Virginia in 1875. With limited access to education, he used the money he earned as a coal miner to attend school, eventually earning a Ph.D. in History from Harvard University. Woodson saw a gaping hole in the study of United States History and sought to fill it.
Although African-American history dates back to colonial times, Black History was largely ignored and misconstrued by historians and the public. On September 9th, 1915 he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH), dedicated to researching and promoting the achievement of Black Americans and other peoples of African descent. In 1916 the group began publishing the Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American History). In 1926 ASALH sponsored the first National Negro History Week, to celebrate and disseminate information about Black History.
The first ‘Negro History Week’ happened in February 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809) and Frederick Douglass (born in February either 1817 or 1818, no exact records remain). After the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s Black History Week grew into Black History Month. February has officially been designated as Black History Month since 1976 when President Gerald R. Ford officially designated it as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration.
In 1990, Germany initiated Black History Month, and in 1995, Canada did the same. In the UK and Ireland Black History Month is in October, and The Netherlands also celebrates Black Achievement Month in October.
The theme for 2024’s Black History Month in the U.S. is “African Americans and the Arts.”
Read more on BIBLIO:
A Brief History of Early African American Literature Part I
African American Literature Part II – The 1800s: Age of Abolitionists & Slave Narratives
African American Literature Part III – 1865-1920: Reconstruction
Amy C. Manikowski is a writer living in Asheville, NC.
