Black History Month Origin and Influence in the Black American Community
WRITTEN BY: GEORGE DIKE
F ebruary 1st marks the first day of Black History The celebration, also known as African American History Month, evolved from “Negro History Week,” created by acclaimed historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since the inaugural Negro History Week in 1926, other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, have joined the United States in honoring Black people and their contributions to history and culture. Month in the United States. Every year, Americans set aside this month to reflect on African Americans’ accomplishments in the United States. Black History Month celebrates African American achievements and an opportunity to recognize their significant role in American history.
THE ORIGIN OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH Carter G. Woodson ignited the movement of Black History Month. Woodson was born to former slave parents. He spent his childhood working in Kentucky coal mines until enrolling in high school at twenty. He graduated in two years and eventually earned a Ph.D. from Harvard. In his research, Carter G. Woodson was horrified to discover that history books mainly neglected the Black American population. These books only talked about African Americans in ways that reinforced the lower social status they were assigned at the time. Due to the public’s lack of knowledge of Black people’s achievements, historian Carter G. Woodson co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. In 1926, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History named the second week of February “Negro History Week” to honor African Americans’ contributions to American history.
322
Powered by FlippingBook