Although love may be in the air from Valentines Day, there is a more important holiday that is celebrated for an ENTIRE month. It is filled with the celebration of African Americans history, african heritage and so much more. Black History Month at one point did not exist until some creative minds decided to appreciate the contributions African Americans have made to this country. As per one of my friends, she said that black history month is actually supposed to celebrate African American contributions that are happening now rather than in the past and that seems like a pretty cool idea.
Black History month was created when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). This group researched and promoted achievements by African Americans and people of African descent. The group started “Negro History Week” on the second week of February. It was chosen for two reasons: it correlated with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and Frederick Douglas’s birthday, two very important people in African American History. As years went on, public schools implemented Negro History Week and mayors of different cities issued proclamations for recognition of Negro History Week and eventually became what is known today as Black History Month. President Gerald Ford officially gave recognition to Black History Month in 1976, calling the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history. Contributions African American people have made range from many ideas. There are a lot of contributions African Americans have made such as:
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The Super Soaker, a famous water gun that most people see on television was invented by a black man, Lonnie Johnson.
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The first black woman representative was Shirley Chisholm. She was elected in 1968 and represented the state of New York.
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Madam C.J. Walker was from Louisiana and became wealthy after inventing African-American hair care products.
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Rosa Parks, an activist that worked alongside MLK and interesting fact worked at the illustrious Hampton University for a period of time.
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Martin Luther King Jr. was a famous civil rights activists that paved the way for basic rights for African Americans.
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Dr. Mae Jemison was the first black astronaut woman to go into space.
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Barack Obama was elected in 2009, as the first African American President and served two terms.
The list can go on and on as there are many African Americans that have made contributions to the world we know today. I challenge you to find contributions African Americans have made in today’s world as well as in the past that have influenced or inspired you. Share and tag @hchamptonu to let us know what you found.
Editors, History.com. “Black History Month.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month.