Críticas Magazine

Loida García-Febo

February is Black History Month
February 5, 2008

Black history is American history; every day is Black History Day. There are no enough days to celebrate W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr, Edward Brooke, Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Althea Gibson and Rosa Parks.

Black History Month began in 1926, and was originally called “Negro History Week.” It was created by historian Carter G. Woodson to bring national attention to the involvement of black people in America's technological, scientific, and social advancements. Woodson, a Harvard-educated scholar, was discouraged when he discovered there was little mention of African Americans in history textbooks. Even though black women and men produced so many substantial inventions—ranging from the traffic light to the typewriter—only four black inventors have been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, OH. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two men whose contributions greatly affected the advancement of African-American people. Negro History Week became Black History Month in 1976, and in recent years has been renamed African-American History Month.

Libraries around the country have developed annual events to celebrate Black heritage and the lives of so many great Americans. These events have become central part of library programming to educate children and the community at large. Queens Library has posted a twelve-page program on its website including activities at the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center. Los Angeles Public Library, Northville District Library, Denver Public Library and Cuyahoga County Public Library are few of the libraries hosting month-long celebrations. 

Posted by Loida García-Febo on February 5, 2008 | Comments (0)