Six on History: Black History is Every Month
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— Carter G. Woodson
On Feb. 7, 1926, Carter G. Woodson, initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month, to extend and deepen the study and scholarship on African American history, all year long. Here is an essay on the history and purpose of Black History Month, followed by recommended articles and resources on Black history.
By Daryl Michael Scott
Carter G. Woodson chose February for Negro History Week for reasons of tradition and reform. It is commonly said that Woodson selected February to encompass the birthdays of two great Americans who played a prominent role in shaping Black history, namely Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, whose birthdays are the 12th and the 14th, respectively. More importantly, he chose them for reasons of tradition. Since Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, the Black community, along with other Republicans, had been celebrating the fallen president’s birthday. And since the late 1890s, Black communities across the country had been celebrating Douglass’. Well aware of the pre-existing celebrations, Woodson built Negro History Week around traditional days of commemorating the Black past. He was asking the public to extend their study of Black history, not to create a new tradition. In doing so, he increased his chances for success.
Yet Woodson was up to something more than building on tradition. Without saying so, he aimed to reform it from the study of two great men to a great race. Though he admired both men, Woodson had never been fond of the celebrations held in their honor. He railed against the “ignorant spellbinders” who addressed large, convivial gatherings and displayed their lack of knowledge about the men and their contributions to history. More importantly, Woodson believed that history was made by the people, not simply or primarily by great men. He envisioned the study and celebration of the Negro as a race, not simply as the producers of a great man. And Lincoln, however great, had not freed the slaves — the Union Army, including hundreds of thousands of Black soldiers and sailors, had done that. Rather than focusing on two men, the Black community, he believed, should focus on the countless Black men and women who had contributed to the advance of human civilization.
From the beginning, Woodson was overwhelmed by the response to his call. Negro History Week appeared across the country in schools and before the public. The 1920s was the decade of the New Negro, a name given to the post-World War I generation because of its rising racial pride and consciousness. Urbanization and industrialization had brought over a million African Americans from the rural South into big cities of the nation. The expanding Black middle class became participants in and consumers of Black literature and culture. Black history clubs sprang up, teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils, and progressive whites stepped forward and endorsed the efforts.
Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) scrambled to meet the demand. They set a theme for the annual celebration, and provided study materials—pictures, lessons for teachers, plays for historical performances, and posters of important dates and people. Provisioned with a steady flow of knowledge, high schools in progressive communities formed Negro History Clubs. To serve the desire of history buffs to participate in the re-education of Black folks and the nation, ASALH formed branches that stretched from coast to coast. In 1937, at the urging of Mary McLeod Bethune, Woodson established the Negro History Bulletin, which focused on the annual theme. As Black populations grew, mayors issued Negro History Week proclamations, and in cities, like Syracuse, progressive whites joined Negro History Week with National Brotherhood Week.
Like most ideas that resonate with the spirit of the times, Negro History Week proved to be more dynamic than Woodson or ASALH could control. By the 1930s, Woodson complained about the intellectual charlatans, Black and white, popping up everywhere, seeking to take advantage of the public interest in Black history. He warned teachers not to invite speakers who had less knowledge than the students themselves. Increasingly, publishing houses that had previously ignored black topics and authors rushed to put books on the market and in the schools. Instant experts appeared everywhere, and non-scholarly works appeared from “mushroom presses.” In America, nothing popular escapes either commercialization or eventual trivialization, and so Woodson, the constant reformer, had his hands full in promoting celebrations worthy of the people who had made the history.
Well before his death in 1950, Woodson believed that the weekly celebrations — not the study or celebration of Black history — would eventually come to an end. In fact, Woodson never viewed Black history as a one-week affair. He pressed for schools to use Negro History Week to demonstrate what students learned all year. In the same vein, he established a Black studies extension program to reach adults throughout the year. It was in this sense that Blacks would learn of their past on a daily basis that he looked forward to the time when an annual celebration would no longer be necessary. Generations before Morgan Freeman and other advocates of all-year commemorations, Woodson believed that Black history was too important to America and the world to be crammed into a limited time frame. He spoke of a shift from Negro History Week to Negro History Year.
In the 1940s, efforts began slowly within the Black community to expand the study of Black history in the schools and Black history celebrations before the public. In the South, Black teachers often taught Negro History as a supplement to United States history. One early beneficiary of the movement reported that his teacher would hide Woodson’s textbook beneath his desk to avoid drawing the wrath of the principal. During the Civil Rights Movement in the South, the Freedom Schools incorporated Black history into the curriculum to advance social change. The Negro History movement was an intellectual insurgency that was part of every larger effort to transform race relations.
The 1960s had a dramatic effect on the study and celebration of Black history. Before the decade was over, Negro History Week would be well on its way to becoming Black History Month. The shift to a month-long celebration began even before Woodson’s death. As early as 1940s, Blacks in West Virginia, Woodson’s home state where he often spoke, began to celebrate February as Negro History Month. In Chicago, a now forgotten cultural activist, Fredrick H. Hammaurabi, started celebrating Negro History Month in the mid-1960s. Having taken an African name in the 1930s, Hammaurabi used his cultural center, the House of Knowledge, to fuse African consciousness with the study of the Black past. By the late 1960s, as young Blacks on college campuses became increasingly conscious of links with Africa, Black History Month replaced Negro History Week at a quickening pace. Within ASALH, younger intellectuals, part of the awakening, prodded Woodson’s organization to change with the times. They succeeded. In 1976, fifty years after the first celebration, ASALH used its influence to institutionalize the shifts from a week to a month, and from Negro history to Black history. Since the mid-1970s, every U.S. president has issued proclamations endorsing the ASALH’s annual theme.
What Carter G. Woodson would say about the continued celebrations is unknown, but he would smile on all honest efforts to make Black history a field of serious study and provide the public with thoughtful celebrations.
Daryl Michael Scott is professor of history at Howard University and former president of ASALH.
Reprinted from ASALH with hyperlinks added by the Zinn Education Project. © 2011, 2010, 2009 ASALH
Visitors to D.C.: Don’t miss the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (National Park Service) and statue.
Resources for Teaching African American HistoryThe Zinn Education Project offers a selection of recommended lessons, books, films, articles, archives, and websites for teaching African American history as central to all U.S. history. The resources can be filtered by time period, type of resource, and/or reading level. View here.
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A lesson on the countless colonial laws enacted to create division and inequality based on race. This helps students understand the origins of racism in the United States and who benefits.
Article. By Adam Sanchez. If We Knew Our History series.
Too often, students are taught that the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1965 with passage of the Voting Rights Act. It didn’t. Adam Sanchez argues that it is essential to teach the long, grassroots history of the Civil Rights Movement in order to help students think about today’s movements for racial justice.
Article. By Jeff Biggers. If We Knew Our History Series.
Biggers asks us to remember the role of African Americans in shaping—and being shaped by—a region of the country that is too often forgotten.
"It’s officially Black History Month, and all I can say is that this month’s music is starting us off with a bang. The diversity of music produced and released is always astounding, and this week is no exception. Bringing us their A-game are artists who I wished I’d heard of sooner, artists I’ve been obsessed with for years and mixtapes where the production creates a world of its own.
One of the most poignant pieces is FKA twigs, Headie One and Fred again..’s new release Don’t Judge Me, which encompasses what I believe Black History Month is all about: finding love and joy through others while still, unfortunately, needing to be on the lookout for yourself.
But even though we’re celebrating joy, *tugs collar* there might also be a few songs that are perfect for a breakup scene in a television show (or real-life drama), or just itching to be the soundtrack behind a wig-snatching, food-throwing, mama-screaming fight in a Tyler Perry movie.
However, the most joyous moment of them all is Summer Walker’s Body, where she gives us a glimpse into her pregnancy in a beautifully done video. The joy continues alongside songs of hope, creativity and honoring ancestors, melodiously starting off Black History Month."
"Each February, Americans across the United States commemorate Black History Month(Open external link), a month-long national celebration of the contributions and achievements that Black men and women have made throughout U.S. and world history.
Black History Month serves as an inclusive month-long call to action for all Americans to remember, discover, understand, and honor the key contributions that Black men and women have made to our country, our society, and to the world.
Connections to the Passport to Social Studies and Civics for All Curricula(Open external link)
- This resource identifies NYCDOE Passport to Social Studies, Civics for All curriculum lessons, and Hidden Voices profiles that can be connected to and enriched by corresponding essays or poems from the Project. These lessons can be utilized to support, amplify and help students create context for the thought-provoking ideas presented in The 1619 Project(Open external link). The topics in the table are arranged in approximate chronological order by theme.
The 1619 Project(Open external link)
- New York Times initiative, marks the significance of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of more than 20 Africans at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony. In August 1619, the British Colonies of North America entered into the horrific Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the practice of race-based slavery. In addition to marking the anniversary, the publication’s essays, articles, and poems seek to center the role and agency of African Americans in the larger narrative of United States History. According to its editors, The 1619 Project “aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.”
John Lewis Talk for NYC Teachers and Students(Open external link) and Freedom Now: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom(Open external link)
- A video and lesson plan from the Passport to Social Studies to use while teaching the March trilogy.
- The video is of Congressman John Lewis’ visit with NYCDOE students at New-York Historical Society in December of 2019, his last appearance on stage in his lifetime. Congressman Lewis’ speech begins at 19:20.
- The lesson plan is from Grade 8 Unit 6 of the Passport to Social Studies curriculum and focuses on the way that Lewis’ graphic history March tells the story of the 1963 March on Washington.
Hidden Voices: Untold Stories in New York City History(Open external link)
- A teacher-facing resource guide aligned to the Passport to Social Studies curriculum to help teachers facilitate and explore inclusive learning experiences that validate the diverse perspectives and contributions of underrepresented individuals and groups. Alongside guidance for teachers on authentically incorporating diverse perspectives are profiles of selected lesser-known figures who have had an impact on New York City history. Each profile includes discussion questions and document analysis questions for each grade band as well as explicit connections to Passport to Social Studies units and lessons, including profiles of significant Black figures like Maria Van Angola, Eliza Jennings Graham, David Ruggles, and Elsie Richardson.
Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History(Open external link)
- A teacher-facing resource guide aligned to the Passport to Social Studies curriculum. The design and included resources allow teachers to integrate and explore inclusive learning experiences that validate the diverse perspectives and contributions of underrepresented individuals and groups in the LGBTQ+ community, including profiles of Black members of the community like Rebecca Primus, Addie Brown, Ma Rainey, Bayard Rustin, and Audre Lorde.
Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History Lesson Plans (DOE Facing)(Open external link) and Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History Lesson Plans (Public Facing)(Open external link)
- A collection of lesson plans to build on content found in the Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History guide, and to provide models for teaching the Profiles and Portraits of an Era found in the book. All of the lessons contain new and exciting sources, including primary sources from local and national archives to make your curriculum more LGBTQ+ inclusive. Lesson plans in this collection include LGBTQ+ community, including Black members of the LGBTQ+ community like Rebecca Primus, Addie Brown, Ma Rainey, Bayard Rustin, and Audre Lorde.
Recognized Comic(Open external link)
- A two-part LGBTQ+ graphic history, created by Good Trouble Comics in collaboration with the NYCDOE Civics for All and Social Studies teams.
- The two stories found in Recognized are, “Shine,” a story about Alain Locke, and “In Love and Resistance,” a story about Sylvia Rivera narrated by Marsha P. Johnson. This graphic history is based on two profiles found in the New York City Department of Education’s Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History. The two comics include fictional characters, semi-fictional settings, and a great deal of historical facts and details about significant LGBTQ+ figures from our past.
Action Activists #2 Activism in New York comic (Open external link)
- A comic that tells the story of four significant moments in the activist history of New York City and is a part of the Civics for All initiative. The second story in Action Activists # 2 focuses on the Abolitionists’ activism in New York City before the Civil War, including the work of David Ruggles.
Association for the Study of African American Life and History, 2021 Theme (Open external link)
- When Carter G. Woodson established Negro History week in 1926, he realized the importance of providing a theme to focus the attention of the public. The intention has never been to dictate or limit the exploration of the Black experience, but to bring to the public’s attention important developments that merit emphasis. The 2021 theme is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.
Black Perspectives, Introduction to the #Blackpanthersyllabus(Open external link)
- The #blackpanthersyllabus is a crowdsourced collection of resources lead by scholars Dr. Keisha Blain and Dara Vance to better contextualize the history of the Black Panthers and offer nuanced perspectives on the history of Black Power.
Black Perspectives, Introduction to the #WakandaSyllabus(Open external link)
- A crowdsourced collection of resources led by Dr. Walter Greason to help teachers use the Black Panther film to provide an opportunity for students to explore the traditions of Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and the variety of African indigenous cultures.
Center for Civic Education: 60 Second Civics, Celebrating Black History Month(Open external link)
- A collection of podcasts and videos, updated daily, celebrating Black History Month. The site also includes lesson plans teaching the story of the civil rights movement and the power of nonviolent action to effect change.
Education Week, How to Get Black History Right: A Series(Open external link)
- A collection curated by guest editor LaGarrett J. King of opinion-based essays and videos that provide a reflection on what it means to teach Black history.
Facing History, Honoring Black Agency & Black Joy(Open external link)
- Landing page for Facing History’s February 2021 resources celebrating Black History Month by honoring Black agency and Black joy. Will include teaching resources and blog posts.
History Channel, Black History Month(Open external link)
- Resource that includes a description of the origins of Black History Month as well as links to Black history documentaries and photo galleries of Black women leaders.
National Archives, Black History (Open external link)
- Collection of primary and secondary sources from the National Archives and Records Administration as well as selected resources available at other Federal sites such as the National Parks Service and Library of Congress.
Learning for Justice, Why We Need Black History Month—Especially This Year(Open external link)
- Resources to help teachers consider how they are framing Black History Month this particular year. Includes articles about the need for—and history behind—Black History Month and support for teaching Black history in a way that moves beyond trauma and embraces liberation and resistance.
Learning for Justice, How Are You Teaching Black History?(Open external link)
- Curated collection from Learning For Justice intended to help teach Black history beyond trauma and help students recognize the brilliance, strength, and love that Black history represents.
PBS NewsHour Extra, Black History Month Teaching Resources(Open external link)
- A collection of resources for grades 6-12 that includes lesson plans and videos that cover topics ranging from important civil rights anniversaries to discussions about race in current events.
- A digital exhibition curated by the director of the Schomburg, Kevin Young, which examines the history of Black travel.
Teach Rock, “Alright” and the History of Black Protest Songs(Open external link)
- A lesson plan in which students compare Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” with Black protest songs of the past in order to identify common themes and ideas that artists have used to illustrate Black experiences in the United States.
Teach Rock, The Gospel Origins of “Chain of Fools(Open external link)”
- A lesson plan that answers the question: How did Aretha Franklin’s foundation in Gospel music influence her recording of “Chain of Fools,” helping to establish a Soul sound and bringing Black culture into mainstream America?"
Celebrating Black History Month
"February is Black History Month, an opportunity each year to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and to recognize their central role in our community and society. In the past year we’ve witnessed the accomplishments of Black leaders nationally and locally. In 2021, Eric Adams was elected mayor of New York City; Kamala Harris was inaugurated as our first Black and woman US Vice President. Amanda Gorman, a bright young voice, was appointed as the nation’s poet laureate. Just last week, President Biden committed to nominating the nation's first Black female Supreme Court Justice to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
As we observe Black History Month in our School of Education (SOE), we are proud that our School has been an anchor for education in New York City. For decades we have educated professionals, produced transformational scholarship, and served the needs of New York City schools. Foundational to this work has been the contributions of the Black members of our community. Their efforts are central to improving lives by preparing deeply thoughtful, knowledgeable and highly effective teachers, administrators and counselors and to addressing existing societal inequities and injustices.
Events at the School of Education
Last week our School held a conversation entitled Let’s Talk About Equity, a student-led conversation about race and equity in the School of Education. The event was the result of efforts by our students with the support of dedicated staff and faculty to begin our semester with the voices and experiences of our Black students and other students of color in mind. In the coming months, we will continue this conversation in several ways:
- A Student Conversation with the Dean on February 2, 2022 at 1 pm
- A faculty and staff conversation on February 16, 2022 at 1 pm via Zoom
- Our committee on Equity and Advocacy will contribute to our reflection and action on racial healing, equity and justice when Dr. Jamila Lyiscott, author of Black Appetite. White Food: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom, returns to offer a keynote address and conversation on May 5, 2022.
- Events at Hunter College
- Diverse Educators in the Era of Social Justice and COVID Conference hosted by CUNY NYC Men Teach on February 9, 2022: This conference will highlight topics in education such as Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health, Culturally Responsive Education, Educational Policy, Mentoring and Support, Teacher Preparation, and how to be an educational activist in your classroom as well as your community.
- Hunter College's Black History Month Convocation on February 10, 2022: Professor Christina Greer from Fordham University will be the keynote speaker.
- The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery Exhibit: The Black Index from February 1, 2022 through Sunday, April 3, 2022 at the Hunter College Art Galleries: The artists included in The Black Index build upon the tradition of Black self-representation as an antidote to colonialist images. Using drawing, performance, printmaking, sculpture, and digital technology to transform the recorded image, these artists question our reliance on photography as a privileged source for documentary objectivity and understanding.
- Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College presents Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality on February 28, 2022 at 6 pm. The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College will welcome author Tomiko Brown-Nagin for a discussion of her book Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. The interlocutor will be Hunter College Professor of History D’Weston Haywood.
Ways to Engage
As we celebrate Black history in Education through our continued work, here are examples of ways to engage as individuals and as a community:
- Learn about resources to support anti-racist practice compiled be members of our community and housed on the Equity and Advocacy website.
- Participate in our Equity and Advocacy Committee.
- Consider joining the Student Council if you are a student.
- Attend events sponsored by the New York City Parks Department and the Public Library to celebrate Black history month.
- Visit our National Museum of African American History and Culture which offers an array of virtual programs this month, including an exploration of the impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
I encourage each of us to find ways to celebrate events throughout the month to acknowledge Black history in our community and urge our participation."
6) Celebrating Black History Month | Poetry Foundation
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