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Excerpt from npr.org, authors Scott Neuman and Jonathan Franklin




February marks Black History Month, a tradition that got its start in the Jim Crow era and was officially recognized in 1976 as part of the nation's bicentennial celebrations. It aims to honor the contributions that African Americans have made and to recognize their sacrifices.


In 1926, Carter G. Woodson<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fnaacp.org%2ffind-resources%2fhistory-explained%2fcivil-rights-leaders%2fcarter-g-woodson&c=E,1,pf7rZBYYKda0aoEiDLPHY0Ub-OUzY-_d4AyqV-1gykjXkFK3aexBxEWtaFD91D9vNlN2ZpwMIhax5_fIM9eF8ZfahaDhNXu5qKZVg3Q0jkxqxQ5QDQ5bSTk,&typo=1>, the scholar often referred to as the "father of Black history," established [a week] to focus attention on Black contributions to civilization.



According to the NAACP, Woodson — at the time only the second Black American after W.E.B. Du Bois to earn a doctorate from Harvard University — "fervently believed that Black people should be proud of their heritage and [that] all Americans should understand the largely overlooked achievements of Black Americans."

Woodson, the son of former enslaved people, famously said<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.williamjames.edu%2fnews%2fWhy-We-Celebrate-Black-History-Month.html&c=E,1,E3Aj0lm1WH23imUjjFkBTbiSDFIWZtJ4F8yLK8ORMP5vG8eMdlWfjR3zyYwnNeknU-mJZEf-b-2qWY9ExkCEPj6TTFpVcJOiBvUPjJSCKc22m_4zXfZRNo66UmU,&typo=1>: "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated."

Woodson chose a week in February because of Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday was Feb. 12, and Frederick Douglass, who was born enslaved and did not know his actual birth date but chose to celebrate it on Feb. 14.

"Those two people were central to helping to afford Black people the experience of freedom that they have now," W. Marvin Dulaney, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fasalh.org%2f&c=E,1,qLeZIHsUH9cYo7jdduV-8nk--AUu5MelyMKYc3w615jwF-TC24qM1ONKRuGNGetFCbfx1lFevOATRZgWAs979dinVp4wR_1pMsh3FVXGRNqbrK5rRaF1pTQOiyXJ5g,,&typo=1>) told NPR in 2023.

Woodson founded ASALH in 1915 and today is the official promoter of Black History Month.

To continue reading please click the link below:

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/01/1150977600/black-history-month-2024-theme-3-things-to-know


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