The Month Of February Is African American History Month.
Every February, people around the United States commemorate African Americans’ achievements and history as portion of Black History Month.
African American History Month: How It All BE ginned
Carter G. Woodson founder the Organization for Study of black Life & History in 1915 in response to a paucity of knowledge on Black people’s achievements available to the general public. The organization designated the 2nd week of February as “Negro History Week” in 1926 to honor African Americans’ contributions to American history. Prior to the inception of Negro History Week, few individuals studied Black history, and it was not included in textbooks.
African American history month: This week was selected because it coincides with the birthday of both an abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, and former US president Abraham Lincoln. During the Confederacy, President Abraham Lincoln led the U.S. which was mostly fought for the enslavement of African-Americans in the country. A week after it was established, several schools & leaders began to recognize it.
African American history month: In 1976, when President Gerald Ford expanded the recognition to “celebrate the too-often ignored contributions of Black Americans in each and every field of endeavor throughout our history,” the week-long event became Black History Month. Since then, February has been designated as Black History Month in the United States.
African American History Month: What It Values
African American History Month has been established to bring attention to African Americans’ achievements to the U.S. It pays tribute to all Black people in the United States, from the earliest enslaved individuals carried from from Africa during the early 17th century through today’s African Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who battled for equal rights for African-Americans during the 1950s and 1960s; Thurgood Marshall, the very first African-American fairness assigned to the U.S. Court in 1967; Mae Jemison, a first female African-American aerospace engineer to reach space in 1992; & Barack Obama, who was appointed a first African-American U.S. president in 2106, are among the notable figures often highlighted during Black History Month.
Today Is African American History Month.
Since first Negro Heritage Week during in1926, other countries, including Canada, , Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, have entered the United States in honoring Black people & their contributions to history and culture. Today, African American history month maintains the conversation about African Americans and their accomplishments through events such as museum pieces & film screenings, as well as encouraging year-round study of African American achievements.
Why Is February Designated As Black History Month?
African American history month is in February.” From local television stations’ Black History Minutes to presidential proclamations, that familiar statement has inaugurated many celebration of African American history & success since the 1970s. So why is February the month set aside to honor African-American history?
Carter G. Woodson, a renowned American historian who pioneered the subject of African American academics in the early twentieth century, has the answer. After attending a three-week national ceremony of the fiftieth anniversary of liberation in 1915, Woodson founded the Affiliation for the education of Negro History and Identity (ASNLH) with four other scholars to encourage scholars to participate in intensive study of Black past, a topic that also had lengthy been ignored by academia & in American schools. Woodson started editing The Review of Negro History, the association’s main scholarly magazine, in 1916. Woodson inspired his collegiate Omega Psi Phi, fraternity to establish Negro History & Literature Week in 1924. Woodson and the ASNLH founded Negro Heritage Week in February 1926, two years later, with the goal of bringing more awareness to African American history.
Both U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who released the Emancipation Proclamation, &,African American abolitionist, author & orator Frederick Douglass , were born in February (born February 14). The Black community has commemorated Lincoln and Douglass’ contribution to African American freedom & civil rights on both birthdays since their deaths (in 1865 & 1895, respectively). Woodson wanted to honor the inestimable legacy of Lincoln & Douglass while also expanding an already existing celebration of the Black history to include not only the achievements of these two outstanding people but also the history & successes of Black people in general by establishing Negro History Week in February.
African American history month: Some communities declared February to be “Negro History Month” as early as 1940s. Negro History Week was becoming Black heritage Month in more & more areas as the American civil rights conflict and the emergence of Black consciousness with in 1960s. In 1976, the organization Woodson formed (later renamed the Organization for Study of African American history & life) aided in the widespread institutionalization of Feb as Black History Month, with President Gerald Ford encouraging Americans to participate. All future presidents followed suit, referring to the month as International Afro-American History Month or National African-American History Month.
What Happened To Make African American History Month A National Holiday?
Negro History Week has been honored by mayors across the country by the late 1960s, partly thanks to the cordial movement & a growing understanding of Black identity. On many college campuses, the event eventually grew into Black History Month.
African American history month: President Gerald Ford declared February to be Black History Month in 1976. President Ford said in his speech that Americans should “seize the opportunity to commemorate the too-often overlooked achievements of Black Americans in each and every field of effort throughout our history.”
Every American president was honored Black History Month & its goal during his term. But it was not until 1986, when Congress put “Regional Black heritage Month” into law, that many people in the United States began to recognize it properly. The goal of the law was to keep all Americans “conscious of our struggle for freedom & equality.”
What Is The Significance Of African American History Month?
Originally, African American history month has intended to educate schoolchildren and young people about the accomplishments of African-Americans and other minorities. Such tales had mostly been forgotten, yet they were an important portion of the national story.
It’s now considered as a celebration of those who, by their activism and achievements, have touched not only the country but the entire world. The month-long spotlight in February in the United States is a time for individuals to interact with Black history, go beyond concerns of slavery and racism, and celebrate Black leaders and achievements.