In the mid-1920s Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History hoping to promote awareness of how African-Americans contributed to society. In February of 1926, a time selected for its proximity to the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, the organization celebrated the first Negro History Week.
The week became a significant part of African American life and in 1976 was expanded to a month. At that time President Gerald R. Ford encouraged all Americans to honor the often neglected contributions of black Americans throughout the nation’s history. Since then every President has issued a Black History month proclamation.
more…