The History of Black History Month
Adrienne Israel, Professor of History and Academic Dean
Issue date: 1/26/07 Section: Features
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Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
? Carter G. Woodson
Each February during Black History Month or African American History Month someone asks, "Why bother?" Or a comedian tells a joke along these lines: "They gave us February to celebrate black history because it's the shortest and coldest month of the year." Or an iconoclast asserts that every month should be focused on African American History and therefore the current celebration is now outdated. Or someone asks why separate the history of one group of people from the history of all others?
This brief article provides background for the upcoming celebration of Black History Month and intends to stir interest in the subject and the debate that surrounds it.
Black History Month is officially sponsored by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), a national organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C. This year's theme is "From Slavery to Freedom: the Story of Africans in the Americas," in honor of John Hope Franklin, one of the nation's most eminent historians whose seminal text bears the title echoed by the theme.
Black History Month emerged from the vision of historian Carter G. Woodson who launched the celebration of Negro History Week in 1926. As founder and head of what was then the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Woodson chose the second week in February for the celebration because it contains the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson aimed to support the research and publication of factual information that he hoped would offset the racist distortions and misinformation about African Americans that permeated intellectual life in the early 1900's. More broadly, Woodson believed that education could transform society and that the study of black or Negro history could inspire hope in young people whose self-respect and motivation to succeed had been systematically undermined by racial stereotyping and the efforts of those who controlled the dominant culture to perpetuate ignorance about the contributions that Africans and peoples of African descent have made to world civilizations.
Woodson also believed that if they knew the truth about black history, more white Americans would work to end racism. He advocated a complete revision of the educational system and wanted black history infused into the curriculum at all grade levels, from elementary school through graduate school. He also promoted economic independence and self-help as the keys to ending the oppression and exploitation.
In 1976 during the nation's bicentennial, ASALH expanded the celebration from a week to the entire month of February. During the month of February, subsequent articles will feature individuals who devoted their lives to the cause of freedom.
? Carter G. Woodson
Each February during Black History Month or African American History Month someone asks, "Why bother?" Or a comedian tells a joke along these lines: "They gave us February to celebrate black history because it's the shortest and coldest month of the year." Or an iconoclast asserts that every month should be focused on African American History and therefore the current celebration is now outdated. Or someone asks why separate the history of one group of people from the history of all others?
This brief article provides background for the upcoming celebration of Black History Month and intends to stir interest in the subject and the debate that surrounds it.
Black History Month is officially sponsored by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), a national organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C. This year's theme is "From Slavery to Freedom: the Story of Africans in the Americas," in honor of John Hope Franklin, one of the nation's most eminent historians whose seminal text bears the title echoed by the theme.
Black History Month emerged from the vision of historian Carter G. Woodson who launched the celebration of Negro History Week in 1926. As founder and head of what was then the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Woodson chose the second week in February for the celebration because it contains the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson aimed to support the research and publication of factual information that he hoped would offset the racist distortions and misinformation about African Americans that permeated intellectual life in the early 1900's. More broadly, Woodson believed that education could transform society and that the study of black or Negro history could inspire hope in young people whose self-respect and motivation to succeed had been systematically undermined by racial stereotyping and the efforts of those who controlled the dominant culture to perpetuate ignorance about the contributions that Africans and peoples of African descent have made to world civilizations.
Woodson also believed that if they knew the truth about black history, more white Americans would work to end racism. He advocated a complete revision of the educational system and wanted black history infused into the curriculum at all grade levels, from elementary school through graduate school. He also promoted economic independence and self-help as the keys to ending the oppression and exploitation.
In 1976 during the nation's bicentennial, ASALH expanded the celebration from a week to the entire month of February. During the month of February, subsequent articles will feature individuals who devoted their lives to the cause of freedom.
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