Celebrating the 49th Annual Black History Month
“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” - Carter G. Woodson.
February 1st marks the start of Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month. The annual observance celebrates the achievements and contributions of African Americans who shaped the history of the United States.
Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History Month, is prominently recognized as a pioneer of African American history. A 1912 Harvard Ph.D. graduate of history, Woodson is often credited with creating Black History Month.

During the mid-1900s, history textbooks often omitted any discussion regarding the nation’s black population. According to a CNN report, Woodson took it upon himself to integrate the accomplishments and struggles of black Americans into American history by establishing the Negro History Week in 1926 and founding the respected publication Negro Journal of History.
With the ascendance of the African American civil rights movement during the 1960s, these ideas became widely renowned. A historiography guide by Marnie Hughes-Warrington quotes Woodson, who once said, “It is not so much a Negro History Week as it is a History Week. We should emphasize not Negro History, but Negros in history. What we need is not history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hatred, and religious prejudice.”
By 1976, the Negro History Week had evolved into Black History Month. According to Britannica, Woodson rooted the commemorative week in February, as it was the birth month of two figures who largely influenced the Black American population: Frederick Douglass, an American abolitionist, orator, and civil rights leader, and President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, granting freedom to enslaved people in Confederate states.
By 1995, the wave had spread to Canada’s House of Commons, which officially recognized February as Black History Month, after a motion by politician Jean Augustine of Ontario. Recently, Ireland and the U.K. have followed suit with their own observance in October.
Black History Month serves as a time of reflection, education, and celebration, honoring the resilience, achievements, and cultural contributions of African Americans. It is not solely a month to recognize past struggles but a call to continuously advocate for equity and justice.

In commemorating the 49th annual Black History Month, we are reminded of Woodson’s vision—a world where history is told in its entirety, inclusive of all individuals and their voices.
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