Tony P.

Mathew
Grade 7
Period 3
Ms. J. Luton

Black History Month

Black History Month originated with the organization of Negro History Week in 1926, by

Carter Godwin Woodson (b. New Canton, VA 12/19/1875-4/3/50). The month of February was

selected in deference to Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, both born in that month.

What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied—or even

documented—when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America at least as

far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable

presence in the history books.

We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more importantly, the study of

black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his

childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He

graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was

disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population

—and when blacks did figure into the picture, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior

social position they were assigned at the time.

Woodson, always one to act on his ambitions, decided to take on the challenge of writing

black Americans into the nation's history. He established the Association for the Study of Negro
Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History)

in 1915, and a year later founded the widely respected Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he

launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of

black people throughout American history.

In 1976 the month-long celebration was implemented, and is a time for Americans to

reflect on both the history and teachings of African Americans whose contributions are still too

little known. When we celebrate the black history month, it is worthy to remember the black

leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and so on.

Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, orator, and writer, who escaped slavery

and urged other blacks to do likewise before and during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass lived to become one of the most influential figures in

African American history. As a young man and a slave in Maryland, Frederick Douglass was

recognized as a bright young man by both blacks and whites. During his life as a slave in

Baltimore he learned to read and write and passed his knowledge along to other blacks in

Baltimore.

Martin Luther King was an American clergyman and Nobel Prize winner, one of the

principal leaders of the American civil rights movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent

protest. King’s challenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s helped

convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. After

his assassination in 1968, King became a symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice.
 African American History or Black American History, a history of black people in the

United States from their arrival during the slave trade until the present day. In the United States

blacks have generally remained socially and culturally distinct. Throughout U.S. history, the

white majority tried to suppress the values and behavior patterns of the various African cultures.

Nonetheless black people combined African practices with European cultural elements to create

a diversified and resilient African American culture that has had considerable impact on

nonblacks, particularly in the areas of music, dance, and the arts. Conversely, black people have

absorbed the language and social skills needed to survive and advance in a white-dominated

society while maintaining a distinct identity and separate interests. The history of blacks in

United States has been characterized by intense and recurring struggles for civil rights, economic

equity, and political self-determination. The Black History Month celebrates the liberation of

blacks, and enhances their status in society.