Black History Month (initially just a week long) was created in 1926 by the Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
It was created to spotlight the contributions of black people throughout history.
The week was initially called “Negro History Week” and was initially celebrated the second week in February because it was the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced African-American history: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
The week was later expanded to Black History Month in 1976.
Founder and Harvard scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson was disturbed by the lack of African-Americans documented in American history, so he created the Journal of Negro History.
Black History Month is also called African American History Month.
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture honors the contributions of African Americans.
The history of black persons coming to America began in 1619 when about 20 persons from Africa were brought to the Virginia. Thus began a history of forced migration of enslaved people to North America based upon the color of their skin. Slavery was legal in all parts of the 13 colonies, though most northern colonies and eventually northern states abolished slavery by 1809. It the South, slavery was deeply ingrained. Although the importation of slaves to the US ended in 1808, the institution of slavery continued until 1865 with the end of the Civil War. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was also passed the same year.
Since that time, the struggle for true equality as American citizens for those who identify as black has been an uphill battle. Just after the Civil War in a period called Reconstruction gains were made for formerly enslaved people in the South in areas of education and political participation. The 14th and 15th Amendments were passed and it looked as if America was ready to start a new chapter. Resistance in the South to a new social order and the North’s unwillingness to do what was absolutely necessary to ensure equality of black Americans, resulted in a backslide. The era of Jim Crow and legal segregation began and did not begin to end until after WW2.
The first attempt began with Truman desegregating the US army in 1948. In 1955 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was “inherently unequal” in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This led to other desegregation laws being struck down as well. However, real change did not begin to occur until the federal government backed the new Civil Rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act guaranteed the support of the federal government in efforts to give black minorities their full rights as citizens. Since that time great strides have been made. The first black Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, was appointed in 1967. We have had a black man, Barak Obama, as the 44th President of the United States. We have just seen Kamala Harris become the first woman, a black woman, as Vice-President of the United States.
Even with these great achievements, there are still issues of equity that continue to need to be addressed. The over policing of neighborhoods of color, as well as disproportional use of force continue to be a problem. Moreover, lack of investment in neighborhoods that are majority black affects equal opportunity. All of these are structural equity issues that are part of a system based upon centuries of racism. While in America, the majority of people believe in equality of its citizens, it is the underlying structures built upon racism where the real work must be done.
Students and faculty in STEM High school are very fortunate to have a diverse community of people from which to learn. We have many different ethnicities, religions, skin colors in our school that contribute to a rich cultural atmosphere. This month we are happy to celebrate those students and staff of black heritage as an integral part of STEM culture.