Black History Month

We all have heard of Black History Month, but do we know when and how it originated? The idea came from noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans.

In September of 1915, Woodson and prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization committed to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent. The group went on to sponsor a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is interesting that they chose to commemorate Abraham Lincoln at that time because in present day his birthday would not be the basis of the holiday, but I digress.

Since 1976, every U.S. president, Canada, United Kingdom, and other countries around the world officially designate the month of February as Black History Month. Moreover, the United States endorses a specific theme. This is something I never knew. The Black History Month 2022 theme, “Black Health and Wellness,” explores "the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well." (1)

Sadly, there are some people who wonder why we still have Black History Month. They do not believe it is necessary or beneficial. I often hear people just say we should have American history and not separate the histories by race and ethnicities. They are right in that it should not have to be this way. Black history is American history; but the reason we must separate it is because this country does not want to tell our history in the classrooms of our primary and secondary education systems. Deductive reasoning would cause one to say that they want it to disappear, even though this country was built on the backs of blacks. Our history in this country is not that we were just slaves. We were doctors, lawyers, kings, and queens and forced to be slaves. Our skill set and intellect helped establish America even though the only history of us they want to tell is slavery. And they are even trying to remove that from our history books.

I remember being one of the few black kids in my class growing up and looking forward to Black History Month. I was excited to learn about the great accomplishments Black people contributed to this country. But that was never the case, we always learned about the same three folks Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington Carver, and Rosa Parks. I had to go outside of the classroom to learn via family, books, and church. I always felt like my history was not a part of American history because it was not taught to me in that way. But most definitely is! And as we are living in a world that is steadily attempting to bury this type of history and ban this knowledge, it is more important than ever to teach the full American history. Selective history is not American history. And teaching black history is not offensive…it is factual. So, in honor of Black History Month, here are some achievements from incredible Black Americans whose novel work contributed to advancement of this country:

Sources

1: https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/

2: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/work-money/g30877473/african-american-inventors/?slide=2

3: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/work-money/g30877473/african-american-inventors/?slide=3

4: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/work-money/g30877473/african-american-inventors/?slide=6

5-7: https://thinkgrowth.org/14-black-inventors-you-probably-didnt-know-about-3c0702cc63d2