For a long time, the history of Black Americans was, to put it mildly, ignored or misrepresented in mainstream education. When you think about it, how many times have you really learned about black inventors, activists, artists and leaders outside of the slavery and Civil Rights Movement? Not nearly enough, right? I’ve started to wonder: how many of us actually know how the month came to be? This is where the story of Black History Month begins. The trust is that Black History Month wasn’t just a gift handed down to us. I was a pace fought for by people who refused to be forgotten and systematically ignored. It all started with Dr. Carter G. Woodson, often called the “Father of Black History.”
According to the NAACP, Woodson was the son of formerly enslaved parents and only the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. He saw that black contributions were being erased from the American narrative. He famously argued that “If a race has no history… it stands in the danger of being exterminated,” a sentiment repeated by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.”
In 1915, Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now known as ASALH. In 1926, Woodson launched “Negro History Week.” He chose February because it contained the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and Frederick Douglass on February 14, as he self-reported. Two men who played a big part in black liberation. But the shift from a week to a month actually started with college students. In 1969, Black United Students at Kent State University proposed expanding the celebration to a full month to allow deeper reflection. By 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month, urging the nation to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans,” as recorded by The American Presidency Project.
In my opinion, I think that we focus too much on the hardships and sacrifices that my people made. Now, this is not me saying that it is unimportant. Yes, I do think that we should acknowledge things like the brutality of slavery and the Civil War, along with every sacrifice that has been made to get freedom where it is today. I also think that America needs to be brutally honest with its history and stop desensitizing it. That being said, I also think that we spend too much time focusing on all the hurt and pain of Black History, and I think that we need to focus on things like Black creativity, artistry and community. All of which are equally important.
