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ORIGIN OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH  In the United States of America, as late as the 1920s, Blacks were not generally recognized for the contributions they had made to North American Societies. An influential professor of Political Science at Columbia University, John Burgess, even defined the African race as "a race of men which had never created any civilizations of any kind." It was in this atmosphere that a Black scholar, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, reacted and suggested that African Americans were so dehumanized and their history so distorted that "slavery, peonage, segregation, and lynching" were considered justifiable conditions.
Dr. Woodson and other like-minded individuals decided in 1926 to institutionalize what was then referred to as “Negro History Week” to counter negative ideas about African Americans. The week was launched in mid-February to honour President Abraham Lincoln (February 12), who abolished slavery in the USA and Fredrick Douglas (February 14), an avid and influential abolitionist. February also had significance because Hiram Reeves, the first African American Senator, took the oath of office in February 1870. February is also the birth month of notable Black activists such as W.E.B. Dubois, Langston Hughes, and James Hubert “Eubie” Blake. In 1976, the bicentennial of the USA, “Negro History week” was expanded to Black History Month. The celebration of Black History Month in Canada is relatively recent, having only been recognized in December 1995. The legislation was introduced by Dr. Jean Augustine, Canada’s first Black woman in the Federal Parliament, and Parliamentary Secretary to Prime minister, Jean Chrétien. The submission read: “That this House take note of the important contribution of Black Canadians to the settlement, growth and development of Canada, the diversity of the Black community in Canada and its importance in the history of this country, and recognize February as Black History Month.” All parties supported its enactment. In 2008, Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, moved to have the Senate officially recognize Black History Month. His motion was unanimously approved. Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987, but it is held in October. Contact us if you would like to help plan for Black History Month events. |
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