The entirety of African American history and culture is celebrated during Black History Month, although it cannot be covered in a single month. Join us at the biggest African American museum in the world as we pay homage to the pioneering achievements of Black pioneers while humanizing history and artifacts through the lives, struggles, and successes of ordinary people.
Black History Month: Origins & Founder
Carter Godwin Woodson (1875–1950), an American journalist, historian, and novelist, is portrayed in a colorized portrait from 1895.
The first “Negro History Week,” forerunner to today’s Black History Month, was celebrated in 1926 thanks to the work of African American scholar Woodson.
Carter G. Woodson, who established Negro History Week in February 1926 to guarantee that schoolchildren be exposed to black history, has had a bigger impact on educating all Americans about the black past. For reasons of tradition and reform to correspond with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, Woodson picked February.
Following W.E.B. Du Bois by a few years, Woodson was the second black American to get a PhD in history from Harvard. He had two objectives. One was to utilize history to show white America that black people had made significant contributions to the development of America and as a result should be treated equally as citizens.
What relevance does Black History Month have today?
Carter G. Woodson’s idea of using black history as a vehicle for transformation and change is still very applicable and very helpful now, despite the significant change in racial relations that has taken place in our lives. One thing has been constant. That justifies the need to look to the past for inspiration and direction. People will discover resources and routes that will aid them in living their lives through this inspiration.
A Path to Equality Through Black Resistance
Carter G. Woodson saw the value of giving the people a theme to keep them focused when he created Negro History Week in 1926. Our museum highlights significant narratives to honor how African Americans came together to serve and improve their communities in support of this year’s theme, Black Resistance, “Making A Way Out of No Way” occurs frequently.
African Americans continue to organize resources and influence social movements via resistance in order to make room for Black Americans to prosper. The history of Black liberation movements, from slavery and abolition to current continuing fights for civil and human rights, is something we welcome everyone to explore with us.