Land of The Brave: February Celebrates Black History

Lindsey Temaat, Managing Editor
February 28, 2019

Test Your Knowledge: Black History Month Quiz

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It is crucial to take a moment to remember how far we, as a country, have come, while also recognizing how much further we still have to go.

— Lexy Turntine

Organizations and colleges across the country celebrate Black History Month, including Allen Community College. This year, Allen’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter hosted two movie showings in the Student Center last week to participate.

“(Black History Month) means remembering a group of people whose existence and culture has benefited so many, yet has been uncredited,” said Imani Lemon, PTK chapter president.

Lexy Turntine, the Student Senate vice president and PTK officer, helped hatch the idea for a celebration on campus.

“It is crucial to take a moment to remember how far we, as a country, have come, while also recognizing how much further we still have to go,” said Turntine.

The History of Black History Month

History.com

Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life in 1915 and launched Negro History Week in 1925. It was celebrated one week in February which included the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14).

Because it had become a tradition in North America to celebrate the birthdays of both men who greatly impacted the black community, Negro History Week asked the public to extend its knowledge of black history, not create a new celebration, as reported by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Racial pride increased following WWI and the 1920s were often referred to as “the decade of the New Negro,” ASALH reported. Industrialization brought African Americans from rural areas into cities, where they became active participants in education and black culture.

According to the Library of Congress, by the time Woodson died in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life.

Black History Month celebrations began as early as 1940, however in 1976, over 50 years after the first celebration, President Gerald R. Ford encouraged Americans to “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans…”. That year the association expanded the event to include the entire month of February. The association still exists today as ASALH, and works to promote the history of Black Americans year round.

Learn More:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-facts

http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/10-black-history-little-known-facts/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/

https://history.delaware.gov/exhibits/online/WWI/African-Americans-ww1.shtml

Sources:

https://africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/about/

https://asalh.org/about-us/origins-of-black-history-month/