Black History Month

Origin of Black History Month

In 1926 Dr. Carter G. Woodson, then-executive director of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, (ASNLH, later known as the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History-ASALH) sponsored the first "Negro History Week." He proposed a week in which the contributions of the Negro to the development of the larger American civilization would be sufficiently emphasized to the benefit of both blacks and whites. This would amplify the association's stated mission "to promote an appreciation of the life and history of the black man, encourage an understanding of his present status, and enrich the promise of the future." Later the ASNLH expanded its focus to include the entire month of February to highlight African-American history.

Today there is a spirited debate about the continual need for a special time of observance of the history of one of the many groups of people who comprise the American society. Some argue for commemorating, rather than celebrating negative experiences such as slavery, segregation, lynching, and political, social and economic exploitation. Others insist that there should be a continual celebration by African-Americans of their own history. Some use the term own in a peculiarly restricted sense to refer to those cultural traits that are supposedly exclusively African-American. Whether to celebrate, or to commemorate or to do both are legitimate questions. However, lest we forget, there was a time, not too long ago, when we did neither.

Source

Cassimere Jr., Raphael. “Frederick Douglass and the Origin of Black History Month.” Crisis (00111422), vol. 102, no. 2, Feb. 1995, p. 18.

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