February is Black History month, which is intended to celebrate the accomplishments and the contributions to society that black people offer; we do this by celebrating some of the greats. To celebrate Black History Month, it might be a good idea to understand how it began. It was first introduced in 1915 by historian Carter G. Woodson. He believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. He hoped to raise awareness of black contributions to civilization and he created the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). In 1925, he and organization announced Negro History Week. The event was first celebrated in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs began forming; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel
By the time Woodson died in 1950, Negro Life had became a part of African American life. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of black people to our history and culture.
Photo by Clarke Sanders
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976. President Gerald R. 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.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.