“Why Is There a Black History Month?”
Illustration: Humanizing History Visuals
Welcome to Humanizing History™! Every month, we feature a central theme. Each week, we dive into different areas of focus.
For this Humanizing History™ Special Send we are taking a momentary pause from this month’s theme to share a special newsletter about Black History Month.
What are Special Sends? Sometimes, we’ll craft a “Special Send” in regard to holidays, heritage months, and other timely considerations.
Today’s edition of Humanizing History™ is around 1600 words, an estimated 5½-minute read.
The Why for This Week’s Special Send
For many communities, Black History Month is an important tradition, and has been for decades. Some are steadfast in how they celebrate the month, highlighting the incalculable contributions and achievements of Black Americans throughout U.S. history and the present, as well as people of African descent around the world. Others may not be sure how to approach the month.
For some, a common question arises — Why is there a Black History Month? At times, it’s asked with the implication that it’s not needed, or it’s followed with — Why is there not a White History Month? (We’ll address this in a moment.)
Others may ask, with genuine curiosity, how do we celebrate it, or discuss it with young people at school or at home?
While not everyone will approach the discussion of Black History Month, or Heritage Months in general, in the same way — with the same vision and purpose, or personalized connection — there are some basic facts we may examine to cultivate shared knowledge.
For this week’s Special Send, we’re examining Black History Month — facts around how it started, and we’ll share ideas that speak to why Heritage Months may indeed have a place in our calendars, at home and at school.
Keep in mind that what we are sharing are some ways to discuss Black History Month, not the only way to discuss it.
What Are the Origins of Black History Month?
Let’s first familiarize ourselves with the origins of Black History Month, including the name of the person who first conceptualized the idea — Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
Born in 1875, just ten years after the end of the Civil War, Dr. Carter G. Woodson faced a life with many obstacles, though he would find ways to carve opportunity. He was born into a family with nine children, and his parents were formerly enslaved, which meant that formal education was something that had been historically, legally denied to the Woodsons.
As a young child, Carter worked on the family’s plot of land, and as a teen, he worked in the West Virginian coal mines to help support his family. As described by National Park Service, “Finally, at the age of 20, Woodson saved enough money from his days as a coal miner to begin his formal education at Frederick Douglass High School in Huntington, one of the few Black high schools at the time.”
Once he had access to a formal education, Dr. Woodson would go on to become a teacher, a principal, earn a Master’s Degree and a PhD in History — becoming the second Black American to receive a PhD from Harvard University, and according to NPS, “the only person of enslaved parentage to earn a PhD in History from any institution in the United States.”
Throughout much of his early career, in the 1910s and 1920s, Dr. Woodson would be the only Black American in a room full of White historians. As described by the NAACP, because he recognized that the contributions of African Americans were “overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed” throughout the historical canon, Dr. Woodson aimed to create formal channels to recognize the foundational role Black Americans and people of African descent have had throughout U.S. and global history.
In 1916, Dr. Woodson founded The Journal of Negro History, which provided a dedicated, scholarly platform to center the history of Black Americans and people of African descent. A decade later, in 1926, Dr. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” designating a week in February, as Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln both had birthdays in that month. And in 1937, with the strong recommendation and urging of Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Woodson established The Negro History Bulletin, a resource for teachers and students who were invested in Black History. It was in print until 2001.
In the 1960s, “Negro History Month” (and eventually “Black History Month”) was gradually adopted by institutions, including colleges and universities, as a month-long celebration, and eventually endorsed by politicians, including U.S. Presidents.
Kent State University, in 1970, emerged as the first institution to designate “the entire month of February as a celebration of Black History.”
In 1975, through the “Message on the Observance of Black History Week,” President Gerald Ford, stated: “It is most appropriate that Americans set aside a week to recognize the important contribution made to our nation's life and culture by our black citizens. With the growth of the civil rights movement has come a healthy awareness on the part of all of us of achievements that have too long been obscured and unsung. Emphasis on these achievements in our schools and colleges and in daily community life places in timely perspective the benefits of working together as brothers and sisters regardless of race, religion or national origin for the general well-being of all our society.”
About a decade later, in 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244, designating February 1986 as "National Black (Afro-American) History Month.”
President Ronald Reagan further cemented the month-long designation when he issued the Presidential Proclamation 5443 External, which highlights what he saw as the purpose of Black History Month: “The foremost purpose of Black History Month is to make all Americans aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity. It is also a time to celebrate the many achievements of blacks in every field, from science and the arts to politics and religion. It not only offers black Americans an occasion to explore their heritage, but it also offers all Americans an occasion and opportunity to gain a fuller perspective of the contributions of black Americans to our Nation. The American experience and character can never be fully grasped until the knowledge of black history assumes its rightful place in our schools and our scholarship.”
For anyone trying to understand the “Why” behind Black History Month, the life’s work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, or even the words of former President Reagan may provide a place to start the conversation.
What About “White History Month”? (And Other Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Groups?)
There are many Heritage Months designated for numerous social identity groups.
An example of Heritage Months identified by the State Department can be found here. However, keep in mind, not every list is exhaustive. Many communities have identified Heritage Months that are not included on this list, including people with European ancestry. For people interested in celebrating such heritage, consider months such as but not limited to: Greek American Heritage Month, Irish American Heritage Month, and Italian American Heritage Month.
If you work at a school or organization and someone asks more about “White History,” consider pointing to the ways curriculum or other community events celebrate people with European ancestry (if you indeed already do). Consider asking for more information: Are there specific historical figures or events you’d like us to consider? (This question can be asked for any identity group.)
While it’s important that we all find our own language to describe things that matter to us, we’ve offered an example statement as to why Heritage Months may be something a community wants to celebrate.
Consider the following: “Heritage Months may help us ensure we are designating time to celebrate the contributions of X, as there’s been a lot of erasure in regard to X in our curriculum, across society, media, etc.”
How to Discuss and Celebrate Black History Month
As mentioned, there are many ways to discuss Black History Month. Consider the following recommendations, knowing they are one way, not the only way.
Consider How We Name and How We Frame
What terms are we using when we speak about Black History Month? For instance, terms like “Negro,” while popular in the past, are no longer. We may use them in a historical context, but we recommend acknowledging that it’s widely considered an “outdated” term. (For more context around language, consider our recent newsletter, where we discuss How Curiosity Can Help Us Name and Reframe.)
How we frame the overall discussion is important too. For instance, as we celebrate the achievements of Black Americans, do we also highlight the historical context of why such achievements were considered remarkable in the first place? In other words, what role did systemic racism play in legally denying or granting access to basic rights for people along lines of race, and what does ‘Black American achievement’ reveal about the fortitude, brilliance, and creativity of human beings — as individuals, and as a larger community? (For essential historical context around the creation and impact of race, consider our newsletters, Race Isn’t Biologically Real, But It Is Socially Powerful, and The Powerful Social and Legal Construction of Race.)
While Black Americans as a generalized community — through organized movements across centuries — have largely expanded what we consider to be democracy in the United States, consider also highlighting the role that multiracial alliances have played throughout U.S. history, including the Civil Rights Era, to today.
When Celebrating
And finally, when celebrating, consider an expansive approach, one that highlights resistance and resilience, people who represent an array of professions and positions in life — from scientists to historians to culinary artists, from musicians to poets to politicians, from farmworkers to bus boycotters, from adults to children. There are historical figures we can name and there is also the reality that everyday people came together to expand rights, not just for some, but rights that legally should extend to all.
Are we in a position, especially in U.S. society today, where we need less stories or more?
Say Hello, Share Your Ideas
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