A few African-American comedians have gotten big laughs when they talk about the conspiracy of Black History Month being in February, the shortest month on the calendar. The idea that "they" want to short-change "us" out of our history apparently has some credibility with those who have picked up on the jokes and taken them so seriously that they repeat this idea as gospel.
The idea, however, is totally invalid. There's no truth to it whatsoever
Carter G. Woodson, by many considered the father of African-American Studies and the founder of the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, created the first celebration of black history in 1926.
It was originally called Negro History Week and held during the second week of February to honor Abraham Lincoln, who was born 12 February, and Frederick Douglass, who was born 14 February. There were already celebrations around Lincoln's and Douglass' birth dates, so Woodson reasoned that people wouldn't be opposed to celebrating the achievements of black people during that entire week.
The choice of February was strategic, you see.
50 years later, in 1976, Negro History Week was lengthened to include the entire month of February, thus we now celebrate Black History Month.
Did you know that Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., of which Dr. Woodson was a member, is also tied to the creation of Black History Month?
To read more about the beginnings of Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson and his organizations and publications, an excellent place to start is the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH).
While you're on ASALH's site, take a look at the information about the 95th Annual ASALH Convention being held 29 September - 03 October 2010 in Raleigh, NC. It's not too late to sign up and attend.
You can also find ASALH on Facebook and Twitter.
Comments
What an excellent article! Thanks for the information and history!
You're most welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read my article and to leave a comment.
Well....it's just incredible that so many people think so un-educationally...why do we,so often,take everything SO personally and try to stir the pot and make a civil war out of everything ?? There are so many issues that need immediate attention,regardless of race or religion,etc.Do we Americans really think that there are all these "bad" people that seek to destroy the whole American ethic and seek to destroy the great feats of civil rights that our country has fought so hard to overcome!!??? You know,people,we had better get back to our basic American foundations that we ALL have fought hard for and helped EACH OTHER with!! Come on...REALLY??? "Divided we stand...divided we fall..." let us keep the ideals that make us a strong and AWESOME nation....remember??? We stand for alot of standards that other nations won't even consider..."understanding" your neighbor,is even better then "tolerating" your neighbor....we are a multicolored nation and I am proud to be a part of that!!! It's not about a MONTH,people! It's about how YOU celebrate it!! I'm a single mother,and I don't demand that the nation celebrate 'Single Mothers' month!! Come on!! We're better then this!! RIGHT!?? Yo...bring it on!! I'm ready to have my neighbor's back.....
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You learn something new everyday. Awesome article
I appreciate your comment and your encouragement. You honor me with your time. Thank you.
Thanks for reading my article and leaving a comment.
I did get rid of all those nonsense comments. I knew about the delete feature. I just hadn't gotten to it before you left your comment. Thanks for looking out for a fellow Examiner over here.
As far as being concise, you'll get there. It took me years to get concise in my writing, and I'm still long-winded at times, but I'm learning. Now if I could only get concise in my talking. That's a whole 'nother hurdle to overcome. Haha.
Maybe a better question is: Why isn't there a White History Month? Why is there no Asian History Month? What about Latino History Month? And why does Jesus only get one day?
I can't agree that it's a better question, but I will say these are all valid questions.
To answer them all.
The history of European-Americans is celebrated in schools from kindergarten to college, in national holidays named for explorers, Presidents and movements. That history has, for the most part and for many years, excluded the history of people of color.
Asian-Pacific American History month is celebrated in May. Here's a link for more information: http://asianpacificheritage.gov
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from 15 September to 15 October. Here's a link for more information: http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov
As a follower of Christ, I celebrate Him every day in my prayer and praise. If you only give Him one day, then that's your choice. My acknowledgement and celebration of my Saviour is a 24/7/365 pleasure, not to be dictated by someone else's idea of when I should celebrate Him.
Thanks for your comment and your time.
I agree with the other Anonymous, except I'd take the question a step further and ask why there is black history month at all. I will also provide an answer. It is because blacks have bought into a victimist mentality that white liberals are only too happy to cater to, with silliness such as black history month.
Thanks for your input. All points of view have value.
I must say I agree. I've never understood the need for Black History Month....and I am someone who feels that black history has a very valid place in our society. Very nicely done article here, by the way!
I was aware of this fact, but I really enjoyed the succinct, informative writing of this piece. I'm looking forward to more of your work. Thank you.
You're most welcome, and I'm grateful that you took the time to read the article and leave a comment.
I think this article is written in the paragraph as in some ways racist. Why should there be a black history month? Why is there not a white or arab history month? I think on a personal note that blacks have made many important parts of History. But why should they have a special section and not be included in the regular history books?
My other thoughts is why is about 90% of the black population vote with the democratic party?? It was Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party (who at that time was a brand new party) who freed them from slavery. All us black folks must do is research history and see who our real friends are.
I have no idea why you would consider this article racist in any form. It is simply an explanation of how Black History month came to be.
Negro History Week, now known as Black History Month, was created because of the exclusion of the accomplishments of people of color in American History. Your question as to why "they should have a special section and not be included in the regular history books" has been answered in the form of a month set aside to showcase African-American achievement.
As for our "real friends," you might want to do a little bit of studying on Abraham Lincoln, who was quoted as saying (and I'm paraphrasing): "If I could free some of the slaves, all of the slaves or none of the slaves, that's what I would do to save the Union." It wasn't until his THIRD Emancipation Proclamation that slavery was finally abolished in America. Lincoln was also a huge supporter of the American Colonization Movement; a movement designed to raise money to put freed slaves on ships and send them back to colonies in Africa. In his time, Lincoln helped the society raise over $250,000 for this purpose. Lincoln even proposed, before there was all-out Civil War between the States, to compensate slaveholders for freeing their "property."
Lincoln's support of freeing slaves was to bring the South into the industrial age. Lincoln believed that the agrarian culture of the South was dragging the economic future of the entire Union into the soil from which the South was making its living. Lincoln was a friend to the economy, and slaves were an afterthought.
As for your comment about Republicans and Democrats. It's true that the Democrats, originally known as the Dixiecrats, were the party of the South. It is also true that the Republicans slowly and eventually abandoned the ideals of equality for freed slaves and free blacks once Lincoln was assassinated. As the world turned, so did the platforms of both the Republican and Democratic party, and you're not the first person who's given the subject of this switch a very superficial forum.
I agree with you. Black folks do need to research their history, present commenter included.
I do thank you for your input, and I appreciate you giving me the idea for one of my next posts.
Great, insightful column! Very impressive!
Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your reading and commenting.
Engaging and informative Faydra -- very well written.
Julia, I'm grateful for your feedback. The time you took to read and comment is very much appreciated.
I read up on this some years ago when I wondered why Black History Month was placed on the calendar where it is and why some schools were calling February 'Cultural Month' and other labels. I never found anything that excused schools for calling it Cultural Month and other labels, but, as you've written here, there are valid reasons for February being Black History Month. It's a wonderful celebration of an interesting history in our nation. We need to keep it strong! Thanks for sharing a great article with your readers.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
I actually did a research paper on a similar subject when I was an undergraduate student at Howard University. My premise was that Multicultural Studies had been introduced in colleges/universities to abridge the African-American Studies programs.
I was very surprised that none of my research supported this idea.
Instead, what the research showed was that more non-African-Americans were embracing their ancestry and wanted to have their particular struggles and accomplishments included, as well. The sources I consulted talked about how some white Americans didn't want to be known as simply white anymore. They were embracing new terms like Italian-American and Irish-American.
My thesis for the paper was something like, "I went looking for this and found something totally different." I got an "A" on that paper. I probably still have it around here somewhere. Haha.
There needs to be a black history month to remind us of the struggles that African Americans have gone through to obtain equal rights and liberties.
That being said, Womens history month only began officially in 2001, and is in March.
We need to write Women and minorities back into history.
One fact to consider; there have been free blacks since the war of independence, especially in the region that was then considered Quebec territory (Great lakes region).
As a point of clarification, there were free blacks before the War of Independence.
American slavery wasn't originally attached to skin color. Blacks originally were a part of the indentured servant system, just like financially-challenged whites who wanted to come to the colonies to make their fortune, and after seven years were given land and released from mandatory labor. This is where the free black community began. Not all black people are descended from slaves. Just as not all white people living in the South owned slaves.
These are the kinds of things we need to emphasize during Black History Month, in addition to all the other people and events we continually showcase February after February after February.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate your time.
why do we need a black history month at all? We don't have an Italian month or a Greek month or a French month or any other month, Did these people do any less for this great country than the African people? No. I don't think so. Is it maybe because you all feel that you are that much inferior.
There's a difference between "needing" something and "having" something.
This article is about how and why Black History Month came to be. The article is based on historical facts, not on emotion or opinion.
The last part of your comment only proves to answer your first question.
Thanks for your input. All points of view have value.
Thanks Faydra, sorry for the miscommunication, by "Quebec territory" I mean Canada (where your article is also appearing). We have black history month also, and I'm not sure why some of the people on this board have a problem with it. It's a great opportunity to learn about the history of our country.
Ah! Got it. I thought you meant the United States. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now the end of your comment makes more sense to me.
In reading your article and your comments, I'm impressed! You really know your history and have a talent for making it interesting.
Thank you for the encouragement, Gaynell. I hope to keep you engaged.
What Gaynell said. I like the way you handled the negative comments.
Andrew, I appreciate you cosigning on what Gaynell said, and we can agree to disagree without castigating and villifying one another.
I try not to return negativity with negativity. That just cancels out both perspectives. Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. How do we build on nothing? There has to be something, even something small on which to get a foothold, so we can move forward.
This article does what it set out to do; continues to isolate the black community from every day Americans. The more you seek out to wright wrongs from the past under the cover of merely 'informing', you in actuality digress blacks within society.
As others have mentioned, no other race feels the need to perpetually inform other races how their race alone has been wronged in the past so frequently and loudly as the black race does. Do you agree that all other races, whether Asian, or Latino, or Native American, or European, have at one time or another in history had their people persecuted and torn down by their relative societies?
We have to ask why those races are not seen in the same light as blacks? Its an answer that we will only speak under the cover of our roofs with our families but we all know the answer. To state it in public society would be seen and claimed as racist though when in fact its only honesty.
What once was something that forwarded and helped the black race has now come to be seen as the crying child who is never happy even when their requests are met with exactly what they asked for.
Please, work on helping your community in other ways than telling the other non-black races how wronged the black people have been by them.
Your comment doesn't speak at all to the written article which simply explains the origins of Black History Month.
I have no idea where your perspective is coming from, as it relates to this particular article, but you're, of course, welcome to it, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment, even if it seems your purpose for commenting has nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the article.
Since you end with "your community," I will assume you are not African-American and have no idea what it means or is to be African-American. Therefore, the "advice" you add at the end of the comment becomes moot.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. All points of view have value.
I know what it is like to have to take the history of another culture in school. Although I am not of African origin, I can relate.
The comments left by some on this page are just plain thoughtless. If you had to take the history of Africa (or any other country) all through school you would want a white history month also, so that your children could learn of their own culture and origins.
Try to see things from another persons perspective. I enjoy learning the history of other cultures and found this article to be very informative.
I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for reading and commenting.
The spirit of your comment goes to the heart of the matter very nicely. Thanks for sharing your perspective. It's on point.
Awesome article. Thanks for enlightening us! Now each time I hear this type of joke, I'll laugh, but now will understand it.
Thanks for reading the article and commenting.
Faydra, that was a well written, informative article. Good job.
Thanks so much, Alan. I appreciate you thinking and saying so.
Very, very well written and I'm proud to have you as a co-worker! I like to be among true professionals with class. It was MY pleasure to read your material. Thank you.
Thanks so much for the encouragement and for reading my articles. I don't take it lightly, and I'm so grateful for your time and attention.
Only when we stop separating ourselves into colors, religions, etc are we truly on the road to equality. The us vs. them mentality is fostered by many such as Rev. Al and Jesse Jackson, they thrive and make a living off of this separation as do many racists organizations (ie- KKK, Black Panthers, etc) If we all want to live free and equal then we should celebrate our country, our combined history and achievements as a society not as separate races by dividing up days to celebrate ourselves. A very good article I might add that may open the eyes of some people who felt somehow they were being slighted.
Thank you for taking the time to read and then to comment.
Garage Dog, I disagree with you. If I celebrate womanhood and have a Girls Night Out, that doesn't mean that I feel "divided" from men. it's just celebrating a part of who I am. You also should take some time to look up the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers organization was created to keep criminals and drug dealers out of the black community and to fight against racism happening on a daily basis. By the police then arresting Black Panther members, that brought criminals and drug dealers into the neighborhood thus creating ghettos. The next time you want to speculate on a group, READ about the group. This is exactly the problem with the mentality of bringing us altogether. Before you can do that, you have to actually dedicate some energy to learning about people unlike yourself. Assimilation is sometimes just pure laziness. And the KKK and the Black Panthers are NOT the same. The KKK burned down churches, hung black men and raped innocent black women. How many cases do you know where Black Panthers were doing the same to white men? They were created for self-defense, not to torture a community.
I've been seeing this trending on the frontpage of Examiner.com for quite some time. I'm glad you are getting some major visits, but you know what I think is sad? We don't all already know this. The same people who complain about Black History Month still seem to have no clue about its origin or its start. I've had this argument so many times I'm almost blue in the face about it. But I'll give it another go. #1 If you feel like it's highlighting black people too much, you need look at the history of Negro History Week. At the time, there was nothing like it. In history books today, there's still only a mediocre paragraph or two. #2 If you want Black History to be taught all year round, why not take the kind of energy in protesting it out on the Board of Education for not distributing more funds to teach it in school or making it a requirement course to graduate from high school and college. While British Literature and "American Literature," which usually ignores African-American writers outside of Hughes and Cullen and maybe Brooks, are required courses to graduate, African-American history and/or literature is not. #3 If you feel like it shouldn't be a month, then it's your right to not celebrate it. With that said though, I don't hear black people complaining about St. Patrick's Day. I don't hear black people complain about people wearing "Kiss me, I'm Irish" shirts. I wonder is it more of a threat that we're trying to connect with the culture snatched from us. It is counterproductive to want to know more African-American history but then protest those who celebrate the month. If you REALLY wanted to know more about African-American history, you would already know how it was started and why it's the shortest month. Faydra, I like your entry, but the saddest part to me is I'd put an entire year's salary down that the people who protest Black History Month and/or Negro History Week have no idea that there's a white guy being honored, too. His name was Lincoln, but I'm sure they know that name already.
Thanks for reading my article and then taking the time to comment, Shamontiel. You make some valid points here. Respect.
Intelligence is a rare quality, and you show it! ;) very well done article and even better the responses...
Thanks for the encouragement, and thank you for reading the article and commenting. Your time is appreciated.
Why should it matter? I personally don't feel any month should be devoted to the history of just ONE culture - black, white, pink or blue! The United States has some outstanding Black Americans who contributed outstandingly to the benefit of this country and deserve to be recognized for what they did. There are also Asians, Hispanics and Anglos as well. Why not 'AMERICAN History Month' instead of BLACK History Month?
I've already addressed your final question in a previous reply to another commenter who asked the same question, so if you're interested you can scroll up and read it.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
As I say, all points of view have value. What/how you think, and the way(s) you express it, say/show quite a bit about your character.
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