By MALLORY PARUSZEWSKI
Senior Reporter
Black History Month is celebrated annually to honor the achievements and history of African Americans all February.
It’s time to reflect on the struggles, and the triumphs of African Americans through history, and recognize the contributions that they did for society.
Black History Month began as an organization in the summer of 1915. Carter G. Woodson, a longtime public school teacher and historian, put his efforts into educating others about African American life and history. Woodson and a few of his colleagues planned professional development events for African American teachers during the academic year.
He was in charge of promoting African American history and civics workshops, which took place as soon as he finished publishing the Journal of Black History– the first academic publication of its kind.
He created and edited the journal using the small salary he earned from teaching history, English and French at the public school.
About a decade later Woodson then created Black History Week in February, 1926. Woodson chose February to recognize two great Americans who played a huge role in helping shape the history’s importance.
Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12th, 1809) and Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14th, 1818). Well before Woodson died in 1950, he believed that it would come to an end eventually. He pressed for others to learn and know the importance of Black History Week.
It became such an influence in schools across the world that it became a part of the curriculum.
In the 1960s the dramatic effect on the celebrations of black history showed that Black History Week was on its way to become Black History Month. 1976 was when the month was institutionalized to be celebrated all February.
Teaching about African American life, history and culture wasn’t just about the songs that were being sung, the poems that have been written or a few good stories of successful African Americans.
Woodson emphasizes relationships between educational content, and the true experiences of African American in the world.
Black History Month has four colors which each have a different meaning.
The colors are black, red, yellow and green. Black represents resilience, red indicates blood, yellow is optimism and justice and green symbolizes rich greenery.
