TRI-CITIES, Wash.-February is Black History Month, a celebration of the achievements, legacy and contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States.
The origins of Black History Month date back over 100 years, to the summer of 1915, when the Historian Carter G. Woodson helped organize a national celebration in honor of the 50th anniversary of emancipation.
According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, throughout that summer thousands of African Americans made their way to Illinois to experience exhibits highlighting the progress made since the end of the Civil War.
By 1926 ASALH had established “Negro History Week” in February each year, during which the organization distributed lessons and educational material to schools and groups across the country on the history of the African American experience.
Woodson chose February for “Negro History Week” each year due to the fact that both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas’s birthdays were in the month, according to his NAACP biography.
In 1976 President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month for the first time, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Ten years later “National Black History Month” was established by Congress with joint Resolution 74 in 1986.
“The foremost purpose of Black History Month is to make all Americans aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity,” said President Ronald Reagan after Congress established BHM. “It not only offers black Americans an occasion to explore their heritage, but it also offers all Americans an occasion and opportunity to gain a fuller perspective of the contributions of black Americans to our Nation.”
Every February the ASALH establishes a different theme for Black History Month. The theme for 2024 is “African Americans and the Arts,” which will explore and showcase the infusion of African, Caribbean and American experiences into visual, performance, literature, fashion, language, film, music, TV and the culinary arts.
President Biden issued a proclamation National Black History Month 2024 on Jan. 31, that read in part:
“This National Black History Month, we celebrate the vast contributions of Black Americans to our country and recognize that Black history is American history and that Black culture, stories, and triumphs are at the core of who we are as a Nation.”
This February everyone is invited to participate in Black History Month community events and learn more about the history and legacy of the African American experience.