Last week, I assisted my colleagues in hosting a Black History Month event over Zoom. I had the honor of writing, and reciting, this essay on the origins of Black History Month.

Black History Month has been an annual tradition in the United States for nearly 50-years, but how did Black History Month come to be?

Black History Month has been a yearly celebration of the history, and historical accomplishments, of Black Americans since its original founding in 1926 by African American historian, and Harvard graduate, Carter G. Woodson.

Woodson was born in 1875 to formerly enslaved parents.  He was a breadwinner, working as a sharecropper to support his family instead of attending school.  He was almost 20-years-old when he finally enrolled in high school, but he was a diligent student and graduated early.  He would go on to obtain a college education, eventually graduating from Harvard University with a history Ph.D in 1912 (he was the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard, the first was W.E.B DuBois). 

Woodson dedicated his free time to studying and writing about the history and historical accomplishments of African Americans – during Woodson’s time, African American history was not formally studied or even acknowledged by educators.  Even Woodson’s Harvard professors knew next to nothing about Black history.

In 1915, Woodson co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), and published literature that taught readers about the historical accomplishments of Black Americans.  He encouraged Black schools, college fraternities, and local businesses to learn about and celebrate the history of Black Americans.  In one circular Woodson wrote,

“We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history…The case of the Negro is well taken care of when it is shown how he has influenced the development of civilization“

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Woodson collaborated with these same organizations when he formally established Negro History Week in 1926.

Woodson wanted Negro History Week to include the birthdates of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.  Abraham Lincoln was the 16th U.S. President who approved the 13th amendment abolishing slavery in 1865.  Frederick Douglas was a Black man who escaped enslavement and became a highly successful writer, public speaker, and presidential advisor during his time.  Their birthdays took place on February 12th and 14th, respectively.

Negro History Week was a grassroots effort.  Woodson spent years writing pamphlets encouraging its celebration, and sharing them with Black-owned organizations, and newspapers – the latter of which helped Negro History Week reach a wider audience. 

Woodson wanted Negro History Week to inspire all American schools and universities to study African American history year-round.  In published writings, Woodson later expressed frustration with the limitations of only celebrating Black history for one week every year. 

In 1976 President Gerald Ford would expand Negro History Week to include the entire month of February, renaming it Black History Month.  Ford encouraged Americans to,

“[S]eize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

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With the annual celebration of Black history growing from a single week to an entire month, we are somewhat closer to Woodson’s vision: that Black history be taught year-round in all American schools and universities, to students of every race. The history of all peoples of color should be mainstays in all curricula, because people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have contributed to American civilization in a myriad of ways. One day hopefully we will normalize Black history into the American education system as Woodson wanted.  Because Black History is not separate from American History, Black History is American History.