Black History Month's History; Ensuring a History for All

Summary

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We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more importantly, the study of Black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age 20. He graduated from Berea College in Kentucky in 1903. Hired to teach English in the Philippines, Woodson studied Romance languages through correspondence courses.

Woodson fought aggressively during the 1920s to have a national celebration of the contributions of African Americans. In February of 1926, Negro History Week was born. Woodson selected the second week of the month of February for the celebration because it fell between the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. It wasn't until 1976, after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1950s that Black History Week was expanded into Black History Month. Today, Black History Month is an annual celebration of African American history.

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Black History Month's History; Ensuring a History for All

Americans have recognized Black history annually since 1926, first as Negro History Week and later as Black History Month. What you probably know is that Black history had barely begun to be studied, or ...

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