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Black History Month

February is a celebration of Black History, but how and when did this come to be?

Rachel Lindsay Abasolo

Feb 24
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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:

  • Frederick McKinley Jones left his mark with the development of refrigeration equipment, receiving over 40 patents for it. In the 1930s, he began inventing automatic refrigerated air-cooling units for trucks, trains, ships, and planes, which helped the preservation of food. His creation, the Thermo King, allowed people to eat fresh food year-round. His work also contributed to the preservation of blood and medicine, proving to be particularly useful during WWII. (2)

  • Granville T. Woods accumulated nearly 60 patents during his lifetime, many of which improved the functioning of railroads. (3)

  • Garrett Morgan’s most prominent original designs have saved thousands of lives since their invention such as his traffic signal, which he patented in 1922. (4)

  • Lewis Latimer collaborated with science greats Hiram Maxim and Thomas Edison. One of Latimer’s greatest inventions was the carbon filament, a vital component of the light bulb. His inventions didn’t stop there, working with Alexander Graham Bell, Latimer helped draft the patent for Bell’s design of the telephone. He also designed an improved railroad car bathroom and an early air conditioning unit. (5)

  • Marie Van Brittan Brown was a full-time nurse; and she recognized the security threats to her home and devised a system that would alert her of strangers at her door and contact relevant authorities as quickly as possible. Her original invention consisted of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone. The finishing touch was an alarm button that, when pressed, would immediately contact the police. Her patent laid the groundwork for the modern closed-circuit television system that is widely used for surveillance, home security systems, push-button alarm triggers, crime prevention, and traffic monitoring. (6)

  • Charles Drew was a physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who worked with a team at Red Cross on groundbreaking discoveries around blood transfusions. In World War II, he played a major role in developing the first large-scale blood banks and blood plasma programs. He also invented bloodmobiles. These are the refrigerated trucks that, to this day, safely transport stored blood to the location where it is needed most. (7)

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

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3 Comments

  • Michaelle Bradford
    "...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."🙌🏽 well said Rachel! This history is vital and everyone needs to know it. Thank you for sharing.
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    Phyllis Ward
    This is wonderful information Rachel. I'm sad to say I had only heard of one of the mentions. I can only remember hearing about 4 maybe 5 of our pioneers. Thank you
    2
    • 13w
    • Author
      Rachel Lindsay Abasolo
      Hi Phyllis! Thank you for reading and engaging! I think all that is important now is the willingness to continue to learn! xoxo Rach
      • 11w
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