Black history has been recognized annually since 1926, first
called as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black History
Month." Black history barely begun to be studied or even
documented when the tradition originated.
Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it
was not until the 20th century where we gained a respectable presence in the
history books. We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more
importantly, the study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
Born to parents who were former slaves, Woodson spent his
childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and didn’t enroll into high school
until age 20. Graduating school within a two year span, he later went on to
earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. Woodson was disturbed to find in his studies that
history books largely ignored the black American population-and when blacks
were mentioned, it was in ways that reflected the inferior social position we
were assigned at that time period. In 1926, Woodson officially launched Negro
History Week as an initiative to bring national awareness to the contributions
black people made throughout American history. His first intent was to choose
the second week in February for the weeklong celebration of "Negro History
Week" because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced our
society: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
As February 2016 marks the 90th anniversary of our observance of
Black History Month, we should revisit Dr. Carter G Woodson’s vision of honoring
those who’ve paved the way and made great strides in history. Black history is
American history – and we should celebrate our achievements all year-round, not
just for these short, 28 days.
