Black History Month: Honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans

Recognizing their vital role in American history, February is designated as Black History Month, which is an annual celebration of African American achievements.  It is also known as African American History Month.

It is important to remember those who paved or helped pave the way and sacrificed so much to change the direction of the country and to pay tribute to African Americans of the past.

Origin 

In 1915, inspired by a three-week national celebration of the 50th anniversary of emancipation, Carter G. Woodson, a prominent American historian, along with four others, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) to study the Black past, according to Britanica. 

In February 1926, Woodson and the ASNLH established Negro History Week to draw attention to African American history. In the early 1940s, some communities designated February as Negro History Month. With the rise of the American civil rights movement and Black consciousness in the 1960s, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month in an increasing number of communities. In 1976, Woodson's organization helped to institutionalize February as Black History Month, and then-US President Gerald Ford officially recognized the month and pushed Americans to participate. 

Famous figures in the Black past

February is also the birth month of two figures who contributed to the Black past: Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass. The Black community had commemorated their efforts to African American liberation and civil rights on their birthdays.

Abraham Lincoln

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809) became the 16th president of the United States, and in 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in the Confederacy permanently free, according to the White House. 

Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military victories were paving an end to the war. The president was flexible and generous in his peacemaking efforts, pushing Southerners to lay down their arms and assist in the reunion process as soon as possible.

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) has inspired and given hope to millions of people, charting his course from a young enslaved man to an internationally recognized campaigner. His bright ideas and bold actions continue to influence how we think about race, democracy, and the definition of freedom.

The National Park Service (NPS) reported that Douglass was born on February 14, 1818, as a slave on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Enslavers frequently pulled family members apart, shattering familial bonds. Douglass hardly knew his mother, who died while he was a toddler in a remote forced labor camp, and he never knew his father.

Following his escape from slavery in Maryland, Douglass became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, where he acquired prominence for his oratory skills.

Black History Month 2024

The theme for Black History Month 2024, “African Americans and the Arts,” delves into the significant impact that African Americans have had on “visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary, and other forms of cultural expression.”