Since 1976, February has been officially recognized as Black History Month.

February was specifically chosen to honor Black history due to both Fredrick Douglass, an African American abolitionist, orator, and author, and President Abraham Lincoln, issuer of the Emancipation Proclamation, being born in February.

The origins of Black History Month stem from Carter G. Woodson, a Black American historian who created “Negro History Week” in 1926, which eventually evolved into Black History Month. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. The following year, he started the Journal of Negro History.

President Gerald Ford was the first president to officially recognize Black History Month in 1976 stating, “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

According to History.com, “The Black History Month theme of 2023, ‘Black Resilience,’ explores how 'African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms and police killing,’ since the nation’s earliest days.”

Black History Month is not intended to separate Black History from the rest of US history, but to emphasize the importance of Black Americans and their contributions, sacrifices, and creativity that have shaped America as a whole.

A few Black American historical figures who left a major impact on our nation are:

Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005): The first African-American woman to become a member of US Congress.

John Lewis (1940-2020): An equal voting rights activist who played a major role in “Bloody Sunday” and the march from Selma to Montgomery.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931): A journalist whose reporting methods exposed to the nation the treatment of Black Americans and the discrimination and oppression they faced.

bell hooks (1952-2021): An author and activist whose research and writings examined the intersectionality of race, gender, and class, and the discrimination that Black women face.

Malcolm X (1925-1965): A civil rights activist and a vocal leader of the Black Power movement and equal rights.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992): A self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," who "dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia."