Black History Month: Origins & Today

The origins of Black History Month can be traced back to Dr. Carter G. Woodson -- historian, journalist, author, and one of the founders of the Association of Negro Life and History. Today the organization is known as the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH). As the story goes, D.W. Griffith's 1915 movie, "Birth of a Nation," inspired him to publish "The Journal of Negro History" in 1916.

Cinematography Racist Propaganda ...

Although the movie "Birth of a Nation" pioneered innovative filming techniques, it was a racist movie depicting African-American men as shiftless, stupid, oversexed and conniving. Even worse, white male actors in black face played the parts of Negro men. The film gave a revisionist history spin to what happened in the South following the Civil War. The Ku Klux Klan were cast as heroes protecting the virtue of White females and reversing Reconstruction political advances of African-Americans.

Cause & Effect ... Social Media

Movies and newspapers in 1915 were the social media of their time and many viewed Griffith's film as fact. Despite lots of protests by Blacks and Whites throughout the country, it was a box office smash. The movie accomplished two things: It was credited with growing KKK membership, but on the other hand it also led to the birth of Negro History Week, the forerunner of Black History Month.

Negro History Week ...

Ten years after the creation of "The Journal of Negro History," Dr. Woodson came up with a plan for a week of activities to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Negros in America. Woodson hoped it would inspire African-Americans and encourage better relations between Blacks and Whites.

The first Negro History Week was February 7th, 1926. It was chosen because it included the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12th) and Frederick Douglass (Feb.14th). Lincoln's significance was the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves, and Douglass was a former slave, abolitionist and one of the most famous intellectuals of his time.

Slowly ...

As with anything new, the acceptance of the week was slow to come around. In his 1933 book, "The Mis-Education of the Negro," Woodson wrote "of the hundreds of Negro high schools recently examined by an expert in the U.S. Bureau of Education, only 18 offer a course taking up the history of the Negro, and in most of the Negro colleges and universities where Negro is thought of, the race is studied as a problem or dismissed as of little consequence." In 1937, thanks to the overwhelming response to Negro History Week, the organization started publishing The Negro History Bulletin, targeted at Negro teachers who wanted to incorporate Black History into their lesson plans.

Non-Chronological Snapshot Towards Black History Month ...

Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball; President Harry Truman, over the objection of the majority of the military, integrated the Armed Force; Brown vs. the Board of Education in Kansas; integration of the NBA and NFL; John F Kennedy became the first Catholic President; the Greensboro sit-ins; the Montgomery bus boycott; the emergence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); Vietnam War; the Cuban Missile crisis; the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; the enrollment of the first Black student at the University of Alabama; the assassination of President Kennedy; the passing of the Civil Rights Bill; more school integration in the North and South; Malcom X; The Black Panthers; The Gray Panthers; civil unrest and protests over the Vietnam War; President Johnson's War on Poverty; Thurgood Marshall became the First African-American Supreme Court Justice; assassination of Senator Bobby Kennedy; Black-owned record labels and radio stations; Martin Luther King's power as a leader emerging beyond his base; Dr. King's assassination; the emergence of Black studies in high schools colleges, and universities; and finally, mainstream historians began mainstreaming Black History into the history books.

The Bicentennial ...

During the U. S Bicentennial celebration 1976, The Association for the Study of African-American Life and History expanded Black History Week to a month. President Gerald Ford urged Americans to observe Black History Month, but it was President Jimmy Carter who officially started recognizing the month from a Federal Government standpoint in 1978.

Come A Long Way ... There's Still A Lot of Work To Be Done ...

Documentation of Black History past and present has expanded beyond the borders of February. There are elements of our society who believe there is no need to continue setting aside a month for Black History. Wrong, don't believe the hype. In radio, we know the more impressions a commercial gets, the more likely more listeners will know the product. It's all about top-of-mind awareness. Black History Month has inspired not only African-Americans, but Whites, other minorities, immigrants, and the poor.

Keeping History Honest & Accurate ...

Being able to see the contributions of all Americans is what's needed for continued growth. For generations to come it needs to be pointed out that Barrack Obama was African-American, and the First Black President and wife Michelle Obama was the first African-American First Lady. In a related item, artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald are the first African-Americans to paint Presidential portraits; they recently unveiled individual portraits of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, which will hang at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C

Other significant American minority names for history include 2018 Winter Olympics medal winners: Team Figure Skating - Mirai Nagasu, Snowboarding - Chloe Kim, and Team Figure Skating's Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani. By the way, let's not forget, for the first time a major motion picture release promoting an African-American Superhero, "Black Panther." Unlike the earlier mentioned D.W Griffith's 1915 movie "Birth of a Nation," the minority actors in this film are being played by minorities.

The names and events of Black and minority history get distorted, lost, or glossed over if we don't keep the stories on a continuous loop. I will give you more Black history to think about next week.