Why is Black History Month In February

Why is Black History Month In February?

February was selected by a man named Dr. Carter Goodwin Woodson, who was a noted historian and publisher, and who was a pioneer in American Black history. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population-and when blacks did figure into the picture, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they were assigned at the time.

Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. However, February has much more than Douglass and Lincoln to show for its significance in black American history. For example:

• W.E.B. Dubois, who was born on February 23, 1868, and who was a Civil Rights leader and co-founder of the N.A.A.C.P.
• The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed on February 3, 1870 which gave Blacks the right to vote.
• The first Black senator, Hiriam R. Revels took office on February 25, 1870.
• The N.A.A.C.P. (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in New York City of February 12, 1909, and
• Malcolm X, the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism was shot and killed by Black Muslims on February 21, 1965.

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black History Month." What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied-or even documented-when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable presence in the history books.

"He who influences the thoughts of his times, influences all the times that follows."

Sources: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmintro1.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month