By Kirkland Burke
Here's some information about what is now called Black History Month I would like for you to know.
Originally, Negro History Week was and still to be only about Black Americans, not people in African countries nor anyone who was not an enslaved African in the British colonies in America which became the USA or their descendants. Keep in mind, Africans in the USA and their descendants born in the USA were not granted citizenship, even if they were born on U. S. soil, until July 9, 1868 with the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
To stem the tide and bring to the fore those lost voices, Woodson founded in 1915 the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). He launched the following year The Journal of African American History, one of the earliest scholarly journals publishing African American research, history and book reviews. Since its inception, ASALH has promoted year-round and year-after-year study of African American history.
Seeking to bring even more stories of African Americans to light, in 1926, Woodson founded the first Negro History Week. This was timed in February to coincide with President Abraham Lincoln’s and Fredrick Douglass’s birthdays - both men were symbols of freedom. It wasn’t until 1976 that President Gerald Ford extended the observation to a full month - one honoring the contributions of Black Americans to this day. Woodson intended for the history of Black people in this country to eventually become included into the teaching of U. S. History, to date that hasn't happened.
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