Black history month facts: Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month, was first observed in 1926.
Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-educated African American historian, established Negro History Week in 1926 as a way to raise awareness of the history, achievements, and contributions of African Americans to American culture. President Gerald Ford extended the observance of Negro History Week to a month in 1976.
Founded by Woodson, the Association again for Study of African Americans Life and History (ASALH) states that “Black teachers in separated elementary & secondary schools committed their students inside an array of festivities plays, reciting of speeches pageants, essay competitions, concerts, & other events.”
Woodson Carter G. February was chosen as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass because of this reason. Lincoln & Frederick Douglass, both born in February, were among Woodson’s inspirations. In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, making him a household name in the United States. The announcement of the liberation of American slaves in Confederate States of America was made public by this proclamation.
In 1838, Frederick Douglass emerged from slavery in the United States and went on to become a well-known abolitionist, orator, and author in the United States and beyond. The book “A Narrative of a Lives of Frederick Douglass, American Slave” is one of several speeches and writings he is known for.
The ASALH Selects The Black History Month Facts Each Year.
Black history month facts: As part of Black History Month, ASALH adopts a central subject each year. ASALH chose Black Health & Wellness as its topic for the year 2022. This is what it says on its website:
“Throughout the African Diaspora, different methods of knowing (such as birthworkers,, naturopaths, herbalists, doulas, midwives etc.) are recognised as well as the legacy of Black scholars & medical practitioner’s in Western medicine. Black health and well-being has long been an important part of the 2022 concept.”
Helped Popularise Black History Month Were Civil Rights Leaders.
Rosa Parks, Mary White Ovington, Malcolm X, & Martin Luther King are just a few of the many civil rights leaders and protestors who have made significant contributions to Black history.
Former member of the National Associations for Advancement of Colored Peoples, sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois was a notable Black scholar who wrote extensively about the battle for African-American civil rights. The “twoness” of African Americans identity is characterised by his description of Black Americans as “experiencers of double awareness.”
John Mercer Langston was one of the first black lawyers in the United States.
In 1854, John Mercer became one of the first black lawyers in the United States and first African American to serve in a House of Representatives from Virginia. In 1855, he was chosen township clerk of Brownhelm becoming the nation’s first African American to hold the position. In addition, he served as first dean of the School of Law at Howard University.
As part of the Civil Rights Movement, students at Kent State University in Ohio protested for the formation of Black study departments or courses concentrating on the achievements of African Americans in the mid-1960s
A month-long celebration of Negro History Week was also requested by students. The month-long celebration was created by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
Black History Month Facts: Outside Of The United States, Black History Month Has Celebrated.
The Black Canadian member of Parliament, Dr. Jean Augustine, was the driving force behind the establishment of Black History Month in Canada in 1995. Celebrations similar to those in the United States take place in February. Because of this, Augustine is referred regarded the Canadians as the “Father of Black History Month”.
During the month of October, countries such as the Netherlands, UK, and Ireland, commemorate Black History Month. After initially focusing on Black American culture, the UK today celebrates Black British history.
HBCUs were often the first stop for many African-Americans seeking higher education.
Black Americans needed increased access to higher education, therefore historically black colleges & universities were created to meet that need. An HBCU was initially created in 1837 when the Cheyney School of Pennsylvania was founded.
To be an HBCU, a school must have been founded before 1964 with the primary aim of educating African-Americans and be certified by a nationally recognized accreditation agency and association determined by a Secretary of Education, according to the Education Act of 1965.
Civil Rights Act safeguards the rights of African-Americans. The civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1957. Since the Civil Rights Legislation of 1875, President Ulysses has not signed any federal law on civil rights.
Conclusion: Black History Month Facts
There are many African Americans who hope that Black History Month soon be a thing of the past. Sadly, current circumstances show that times have yet to arrive for many people. Black history month offers a unique chance for young people in the United States to pause, reflect, and draw inspiration from their country’s past achievements in order to envision and strive toward a brighter future. A century after Woodson’s death, many Americans are still motivated by the very same societal challenges that inspired him.
Carter G. Woodson, an American historian, created Black History Month (then known as “Negro History Week”) than a century ago to honour and celebrate the achievements of people of African heritage to our nation. A week in February, the second week of that year, was chosen for the first time to commemorate both Abraham Lincoln’s and abolitionist/writer Frederick Douglass’ (February 13) birthdays (February 14). Until 1976, when it was extended to a month as part of a country’s bicentennial celebrations, that week was reserved exclusively for the event. Since then, the month of February has been designated as American Black History Month by the United States presidents.
Despite the fact that February is Black History Month, the achievements and legacies of Black Americans must be acknowledged throughout the year. There are many ways to honour Black history and culture beyond the shortest week of the year, from supporting Black-owned businesses to reading quotes from famous Black leaders. To celebrate Black History Month, it’s also important to educate oneself, and so these Black History statistics are just here to help you learn more about the history of the African-American community.
Throughout American history, there have been numerous Black historical personalities that have had a profound impact on the nation’s development, yet their stories are generally forgotten and untold. Aside from the Jim Crow segregation regulations to race riots to instances of police brutality, the accomplishments of all these Black trailblazers are even more outstanding because of this. As a way to celebrate Black History Month, we’ve compiled a list of some of the lesser-known facts about the African-American experience that you may have missed in school.