African American History Month: Kick Off

Mary Church Terrell began the practice of honoring Frederick Douglass on his February 14th birthday in 1900, according to her autobiography, in Washington DC. Carter G. Woodson who moved to Washington in 1909 and witnessed the annual celebration begun by Terrell for 15 years prior to choosing the second week of February for Black History Week in 1926 because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the Black population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Later on in 1976, as the nation reached its bicentennial, the week was expanded into an entire month. February has much more than Douglass and Lincoln to show for its significance in Black history.

History books had barely started covering black history when the tradition of Black History Month was started. At that point, most representation of blacks in history books was only in reference to the low social position they held, with the exception of George Washington Carver. Black History Month can also be referred to as African-American History Month, or African Heritage Month.

Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one skin colour. Critical op-ed pieces have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer [2] and USA Today [3].

With the Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama and the multiple Academy Award nods for African Americans this year, some may say that the United States has come a long way, there are far more people who know that there is still a long way to go.