February symbolizes a significant time for the Black community in Canada and in the United States. It’s the period of the year when we celebrate Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month. We have the privilege to come together to honour the struggles, and also the accomplishments, of Black people all around the globe. BHM is a now a tradition every year, but some of you may not know exactly where it all started. So, to give you a helping hand to understand this month of remembrance, here are some important facts that you should know.
1) The idea to have a Black History Month began half a century after the 13th amendment to the U.S Constitution abolished slavery in America.
2) In its early years around 1926, Black History Month didn’t exist, but instead they had a “Negro History Week”. This event was held during the second week of February, which was the idea of the famous historian, Carter Woodson.
3) Carter Woodson chose to celebrate it on the second week of February because it marked the birthday of two important men who influenced the African-American population: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
4) The first goal of the celebration was to encourage public schools to also teach the history of Black Americans.
5) People reacted positively to “Negro History Week”. In turn, it created clubs and sparked some teachers’ interests, which made the annual event even more popular each year. Progressively from that moment students started learning the story of Afro-Americans in their classroom in the United States.
6) It’s only after 50 years of existence that “Negro History Week” was expanded to “Black History Month”.
7) Even though the event was a success, some critics were concerned about the fact that the celebration only lasted a month or that they were celebrating one race in particular.
8) Canadian politician, Jean Augustine, made a motion that was accepted by the House of Commons. The latter officially recognized February as Black History Month, in 1995.
During the month of February, it’s the perfect time to start learning about Black History. If you have questions, do your research or talk to someone who you’re sure you’ll get the most accurate response from. Be open minded because unfortunately you will hear a lot of information that you may not want to hear. Just as everyone is respectful of another, this month of honouring and remembering should be a fun, but informative.
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