February is designated as Black History Month. As we celebrate our community’s diversity, we share a few resources…
What is Black History Month?
Black History Month is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of African Americans to the United States and our own community. It also focuses attention on history, starting when enslaved people were first captured and brought from Africa through today’s experience.
How did Black History Month begin?
The celebration has roots in Chicago. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), in the summer of 1915, University of Chicago alumnus Carter Woodson traveled from Washington, D.C. to Chicago to participate in a national celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation sponsored by the state of Illinois. That experience stayed with him as he became a life-long proponent of African American studies, organizing Negro History Week, first held in 1926. This week-long event officially became Black History Month in 1976. Read the longer history, written by Howard University VP of Program Daryl Michael Scott on the ASALH website.
Why is Black History Month celebrated in February?
The common thinking is is that Carter Woodson chose February because it also honors two American’s who played key role in shaping black history in the United States. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, and Frederick Douglass was both on February 14.
Special Events
Resources to Learn More
This graphic is provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce
