Black History Month: History

The Creation of Black History Month

In the summer of 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson arrived in Chicago for the three week celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation. He didn't know it at the time, but the celebration filled with programs and exhibits would be the spark that led Woodson to create the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) on Thursday, September 9th at the Wabash YMCA. As an educator, Dr. Woodson wanted to establish an organization that was dedicated to the scientific study of Black history and culture. The following year he established The Journal of Negro History which published research by Woodson and other Black historians.

He led a campaign to get more Black organizations to champion the achievements that he and historians were discovering about Black people and history. He was able to convince his fraternity brothers of Omega Psi Phi to get involved with his efforts. In 1924, the Omegas created Negro History and Literature Week which later became Negro Achievement Week. The work they did was great, but Woodson believed that more could be done so he and the Association created Negro History Week in February 1926.

It is well known that Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it included the birthdays of two people well known for their work with Black liberation -- President Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14). The Black community regularly held celebrations for both men and Woodson knew the draw that their names carried in the Black community. But he wanted the week to expand its celebration to others in the Black race who contributed to history. He also wanted to dispel the notion that Lincoln freed enslaved persons. He wanted more recognition placed with the Black soldiers of the Union army.

Negro History Week was popular from the start due in part to the increase in outward racial pride in the 1920s. This was the decade that saw the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, many Black people leaving the south for bigger opportunities in the North as part of the Great Migration, and a growth in the Black middle class. Schools and churches along with Black history clubs made Woodson's initiative popular and heavy in demand.

Beginning in 1928, the Association created annual themes along with lesson plans for teachers, plays for school and church performances, and posters celebrating important dates and people throughout history. They established local chapters of the Association throughout the country. Woodson also created the Negro History Bulletin thanks to a suggestion from Mary McLeod Bethune in 1937. In cities with growing and large Black resident populations, mayors issued formal Negro History week proclamations.

Before his death in 1950, Woodson wanted to see a shift from Negro History Week to Negro History Year. He knew that the richness of Black history and culture went well beyond just a one week focus. The foundation he laid in the early years continued to grow in the 1940s with Black teachers teaching Black history alongside US history. In the spirit of resistance, teachers were known for hiding Woodson's textbook under their desks to avoid being caught by school administration. The Freedom Schools wove Black History into the curriculum as part of their movement for civil rights.

In the 1940s, Black people in West Virginia began celebrating Negro History Month more than 30 years before it became a national celebration. The 1960s saw Black students on college campuses calling for equality and the recognition of Black history and achievements. The month of February was informally Black History Month long before President Gerald Ford's proclamation in 1976. Black college students urged the Association to lead the expansion from a week to a month long commemoration.

In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244 which designated February 1986 as National Black (Afro-American) History Month. Since 1986, presidents have issued national proclamations every February calling for the celebration of Black History Month. Black History Month is also celebrated throughout the world in various months.

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