Black History Month Celebrates 100 Years

It has been 100 years since Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Week which was changed to Black History Month. He thought a week was too short to focus on the history. Since then, many Americans are studying Black history daily and it has been embraced in many colleges and universities as a college major across the country.  Black colleges have opened Black Student Unions on campus. As an educational history of African Americans whose history has often been hidden in the history books of American, there has been a national theme chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The theme is not to dictate but to suggest. ASALH was founded and encouraged by the father of Black History, the honorable Carter G. Woodson, to select a yearly theme. The themes were established to bring attention to important developments that needed focusing on. The theme for 2026 is A Century of Black History Commemorations. In celebrating the entire history of the most important events and people, ASALH puts into the national spotlight the richness of the past and present with an eye towards what the future will bring. The themes were set to illustrate the contributions people of African descent have made to the movement of history and modern culture.

According to Dr. Woodson’s contemporary W. E. B. Du Bois, “He (Dr. Woodson) made this country…recognize and celebrate each year a week in which it studied the effect which the American Negro has had upon life, thought and action in the United States. I know of no other man who in a lifetime has unaided built up such a national celebration”.

(asalh.org)

Timeline of Black History Study:

• September 9, 2015 the Association for the Study of  Negro Life and History was founded

• In 1925, Black History Week was founded by Dr. Woodson

• February 10, 1976 during the US Bicentennial, President Gerald Ford became the first president toissue a message recognizing Black History Month

• 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99- 244 designating February the month when Black history finds its way into the schools of America, public places and cultural institutions.

ASALH emphasizes that, during the 250^th anniversary of United States independence, it is important to tell not only an inclusive history, but an accurate one. As there are forces weary of democracy who seeks to use legislative means and book bans to devalue the study of Black history and ‘white wash’ it.