February: Black History Month

Timeline

The history of African-Americans begins with slavery, the fate of slaves in the United States would divide the nation during the Civil War. After the war, the racist legacy of slavery would persist, spurring movements of resistance, through it all, black leaders, artists, and writers would emerge and help shape the character and identity of a nation.

February is dedicated as Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, including the civil rights movement and their artistic, cultural and political achievements.

Why Is Black History Month In February? 

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week”.

Enthusiasm

Negro History Week was met with an enthusiastic response; it prompted the creation of black history clubs, an increase in interest among teachers, and interest from progressive whites. Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday.

African-American history

It is the part of American history that looks at the African-Americans or Black Americans in the United States.

Although previously marginalized, African-American history has gained ground in school and university curricula and gained wider scholarly attention since the late 20^th century. The black history that pre-dates the slave trade is rarely taught in schools and is almost never acknowledged. As a result, many African-Americans grow up believing that slavery is the only event to occur in their history before the civil rights movement, which is not accurate.

Of the 10.7 million Africans who were brought to the Americas until the 1860s, 450 thousand were shipped to what is now the United States.

Criticism

Black History Month often sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness and fairness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one race. Criticisms include questions over whether it is appropriate to confine the celebration of black history to one month, as opposed to integration of black history into the mainstream education the rest of the year. Another criticism is that contrary to the original inspiration for Black History Month, which was a desire to redress the manner in which American schools failed to represent black historical figures as anything other than slaves or colonial subjects, Black History Month reduces complex historical figures to overly simplified objects of hero worship. Other critics refer to the celebration as racist.

-Brian D. Carroll