Black History Month

Black History Month

by Evelyn

Black History Month is an important celebration in American history. In 1924 African-American Carter G. Woodson was working in the Philippines as an education superintendent. He found that lots of history books did not include African-American history. He found this wrong and unfair. To try to portray his message, he came up with the idea that one week of the year would celebrate all African-American achievements throughout the U.S. In February 1926, he sent out a press release announcing his plan. Woodson wanted to make a longer memorial about African-American people. He thought that a week once a year was not enough. In the 1940s, Woodson made efforts to expand his celebration, but unfortunately he died suddenly.

In the 1960’s some cities started to celebrate and recognize this week and that grew awareness of its importance. In 1976 President Gerald Ford declared Black History Month a national celebration. Every American president has designated February as Black History Month since then.

The United States and Canada celebrate Black History Month in February but the United Kingdom celebrates it in October. It is also known as African-American History Month. Woodson chose February because it is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.

Every year there is a theme and this year is “Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity”. What does the theme mean to you?