An Exploration of the Origin of Black History Month
During the first two decades of the 20th Century a growing number of African Americans desired to shed the stigma associated with slavery and sharecropping. These men and women founded newspapers and organizations devoted to remaking the image of black Americans. These were “New Negroes.” This group was populated by familiar names including, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Carter G. Woodson. Wells and Du Bois were instrumental in the struggle against lynching and founders of the National Association for the Advancement of (All) Colored People (NAACP). Woodson’s efforts manifested in an annual celebration of black life and culture.
Following a trip to Chicago In 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson embarked upon a movement to honor the contributions of African Americans that would eventually grow into Black History Month. In 1920, Woodson urged Black Greek Organizations, including Omega Psi Phi, of which he was a member, to take up the cause. By 1924, Omega Psi Phi promoted Negro (the term used at the time) History and Literature Week which was later renamed Negro Achievement Week. Although the commemoration reached many, Woodson longed for an even larger audience. In 1926, Woodson used The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), an organization he founded, to announce what was originally called Negro History Week. For seven days in February, 1926, the organization promoted and popularized knowledge of the black past.
The first Negro History Week was strategically planned to encompass the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass on February 12th and 14th respectively. Subsequent celebrations, however, expanded the realm of great men and also grew to include women. As progressive reformers, teachers, and even city Mayors embraced the idea of Negro History Week, the movement expanded. During the 1940s, for example, African American teachers supplemented their United States History curriculum with information from Negro History Week. African Americans in West Virginia took this one step further by celebrating February as Negro History Month!
Although Woodson passed away in 1950, the tradition he established underwent a dramatic change during the Civil Rights Movement. As the resurgence of Pan-Africanism washed over communities of color that encompassed all walks of life in the 1960s, Negro History Week was quickly replaced by Black History Month. Young, culturally conscious, and college-educated individuals encouraged ASALH to support the change. In 1976, fifty years after the first celebration, ASALH was instrumental in replacing Negro History Week. Instead of continuing to use the term Negro, the organization Woodson founded used the more socially palatable term “Black” and extended the commemoration throughout the month of February creating Black History Month.
Since its initiation, Black History Month has been instrumental in highlighting the accomplishments of well-known African Americans. For example, after nearly a century of commemorative weeks and months, most Americans are familiar with the contributions of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Most citizens are aware that both Douglass and Tubman were born into slavery in the early 19th Century. Douglass would eventually lead the abolitionist movement, travel widely, and become the equal rights spokesperson for Black Americans in post-Civil War America. Likewise, Tubman would earn notoriety as a political activist.
In addition to Douglass and Tubman, Black History Month has also assisted in familiarizing the American public with the contributions of lesser-known African Americans. Throughout the month, black history facts about Bill Colbert, an officer of color in Indian Territory and Dr. Herman Branson, a pioneer in the field of biophysics make their way into newspapers, classrooms, and church bulletins promoting Black History Month. In addition to traditional mediums, newscasts, talk shows, and websites make time to educate their viewers about African American women like Anna Mangin, who invented the clothes wringer. Others, including Beth A. Brown, an astrophysicist who was the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan also make their way into living rooms across the nation.
Certainly, learning about a perpetual array of African American men and women who contributed to the rise and betterment of American society is important. This information suggests that there is much to be learned from African Americans. Why then, should exploring this information be limited to only one month? This year, instead of ending the commemoration on the last day of February, I challenge you to continue to research and learn about Black History throughout the year.
Dr. Eve Wade is a native of Chicago, Illinois who currently serves as professor of History at ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½. Her areas of interest include United States History and the legacy of the African Diaspora. She enjoys reading, all things Marvel (yes, even comic books!), and spending time with her husband and three children.
Darryl Michael Scott. "Origins of Black History Month," accessed February 22, 2021@