February is Black History Month, also known as African American History Month. The theme for Black History Month 2023 will be Black Resistance. Learn about the subject, history, origins and more
Black History Month 2023: Themes, History, Origins and More
February is Black History Month, also known as African American History Month. Started in 1976, It is a month-long celebration of the history and achievements of African Americans that takes place every February in the United States.
It has also received official recognition in Canada and other states including the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. The month’s motive is also to spread more awareness about Black History and the struggles as the name suggests, so let’s dig deeper and find out what Black History Month is and why it is held in February.
Black History Month: When was it first celebrated?
Source: Wikipedia
- First celebrated in 1976, Black History Month was an idea developed by historian Carter G. Woodson and a group of fellow scholars, who together organized Black History Week. black, starting in February 1926.
- Black History Week eventually grew in popularity and in 1976 was expanded to African American History Month.
- United States President Gerald Ford encouraged Americans to celebrate this month in unity and freedom.
Black History Month: Origins and Beginnings
- In 1915, historian Carter G. Woodson co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History to address the lack of information about Black achievements available to the public at the time.
- In 1926, the association declared the second week of February “Negro History Week” to recognize the contributions of African Americans to American history.
- Few people studied black history and it was not included in textbooks before Black History Week was established.
Black History Month: Why is it celebrated in February?
- February and the second week of the month were chosen because it incorporates the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who wanted to end slavery, and former US president Abraham Lincoln.
- President Lincoln led and guided the United States during the Civil War, which was fought primarily to resolve the enslavement of black people in the country.
- Then, the majority of schools and leaders began to recognize the week after its founding.
- The weeklong event officially became Black History Month in 1976 after U.S. President Gerald Ford expanded the recognition to “honor the often overlooked achievements of black Americans in every field of endeavor throughout our history.”
Black History Month has been celebrated in the United States every February since then.
Black History Month: Observations Across the Years
- In the early 21st century, Black History Month was celebrated with a series of events and activities at public schools, universities, and museums as well as in individual communities.
- Funded at the national level by groups such as the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum it has also received official recognition in the
Black History Month 2023: Theme
- The theme for Black History Month 2023 will be Black Resistance.
- The theme explores how “African Americans have resisted historical and ongoing oppression, in all its forms, especially racial terrorism such as lynchings, racial massacres, and police killings .”
- In February, years of Black resistance in the struggle for self-determination, including through political activities such as the Civil Rights movement, sit-ins, boycotts, strikes and walkouts merit, will be honored.
National Black History Month timeline
|
Year |
Event |
|
1619 |
While this may not have been the first time African slaves appeared in America, it is still an important day in Black History. Colonist John Rolfe recorded the arrival of a ship carrying “20 and odd” Africans who had been kidnapped by the Portuguese and taken to the New World. |
|
1831 |
Slave uprising in American history led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, Virginia. |
|
1863 |
During the third year of the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln declared that enslaved people would “forever be free.” |
|
1926 |
American historian, Carter G. Woodson was determined to bring African American History to the forefront, so he started with Negro History Week in 1926, which eventually evolved into Negro History Month . |
|
1976 |
The first National Black History Month is celebrated |
Bottom line
Everyone, regardless of race or location, deserves the same rights and freedoms. For too long, black and brown people in America have been denied equal rights because of the color of their skin.
READ| Important dates in February 2023: List of domestic and international dates
GK quiz about the American Revolution
Categories: Optical Illusion
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