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African American History Month |
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Today in Black History
Significant African American Firsts
FBI Assistant Director Cassandra M. Chandler Crossing Color Lines
and Fulfilling Dreams, Black History Month February 22, 2005
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Speaks on National African American History Month Washington, D.C. February 18, 2005
The History and Origins of African American History Month
Originally established as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American author and scholar, this event evolved into the establishment in 1976 of February as "Black History Month." This commemoration has increasingly been referred to as "African American History Month," although both names are currently in use.
Since 1926, The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH)has established the national themefor the month-long celebration of Afro-American History Month.
Timeline: Highlights of African American History
Questions and Answers from The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH) on African American History Month
Q: Why Afro-American (Black) History Month?
A:The true facts of the contributions of Afro-Americans to the discovery, pioneering, development and continuance of America have not properly and adequately been presented in the textbooks, media and other communications media. Indeed, for the most part, Blacks have been left out of the written record about America. The fact that some changes have been made in recent years points to the need for a fuller report about Afro-American contribution. The designation of February as Afro-American History Month is an attempt by ASALH to remedy this neglect and provide for all Americans the information needed for creative and empathetic understanding about Afro-Americans in the nation.
Q: Who started the Afro-American history celebration?
A:In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard Ph.D. who 11 years earlier had founded the Association for the Study of Afro- American Life and History, initiated Negro History Week. In those early days, the words Afro and Black were seldom used. It was Dr. Woodson's hope that through this special observance, all Americans would be reminded of their ethnic roots, and that togetherness in the United States' racial groups would develop out of a mutual respect.
Q: Why was a period in February chosen for the Afro-American (Black) History Observance?
A:Dr. Woodson was keenly conscious of symbolism in the American psyche. He wisely chose for Negro History Week the period of February which contains the birthdays of Frederick Douglassand Abraham Lincoln. From its initiation, observance of Afro-American History Month has involved many ethnic groups, not only Black Americans.
Q: Why was the name changed to Afro-American (Black) History?
A:Bowing to pressure from young delegates to its Cincinnati, Ohio, Convention in 1972, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. changed its name to the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Inc. This name change focused on the new thinking by Black Americans and indicated both the new recognition of African background and the Black person's appreciation of himself as an individual, a citizen and a contributor to the American scene.
Q: Why has the week's observance been expanded to include the entire month of February each year?
A:During America's Bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Association shared nationally, regionally and locally in the major thrust of American history. The Association expanded the week's celebration to include the entire month to provide more time for programs, observances and celebrations. The idea of the entire month caught on and ASALH was besieged with requests from all over the country to continue observing for one month, to provide more time to the nation and local communities for Afro-American Black History programs.
Q: What about the future?
A:The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Inc. dreams of the day that the sharing and contribution of all Americans in America will be so appreciated, accepted and understood that there will be no further need for any ethnic group to call attention to its contributions and exploits for the good of the country. Until that day arrives, we shall continue to provide the information needed about the Afro-American citizens in the United States and abroad.
Selected African American History Month Links
The Negro National AnthemBlack History Month 2005 - Timeline of African American History
1619: A Dutch frigate brings 20 African indentured servants to Jamestown, Virginia, the first Africans known to set foot in Englands North American colonies.
1676: Black slaves join white indentured servants in an armed uprising against Native Americansand the colonial government of Virginia; the incident will become known as Bacons Rebellion.
1773: Phillis Wheatley, a slave in Boston, Massachusetts, publishes Poems on Various Subjects, the first book published by an African American, and the second by an American woman.
1786: Philadelphia Quakers help fugitive slaves from Virginia reach freedom, in what is probably the first run on the Underground Railroad.
1807: Britain and the United States abolish the slave trade, effective January 1808, although slavery itself will continue in British colonies until 1833 and in the American South until 1863.
1831: Slave Nat Turnerleads a rebellionthat lasts three days and kills 57 whites (including his owner) before it is suppressed.
1839: African slaves held captive aboard the slave ship LAmistadlaunch a rebellion.
1847: Abolitionist Frederick Douglasspublishes the first issue of his weekly newspaper, North Star, wielding my pen, as well as my voice for my enslaved and oppressed people.
1849: Harriet Tubmanescapes slavery, and soon undertakes daring trips back into the South to liberate other slaves.
1851: Sojourner Truth, noted African American abolitionist, womens rights advocate, and religious visionary, delivers her groundbreaking feminist speech, Aint I a Woman? at an Akron, Ohio, womens rights forum.
1863: President Abraham Lincolnsigns the Emancipation Proclamation, liberating slavesin the states rebelling against the Union.
1868: African Americans gain expanded civil rightswhen the Fourteenth Amendmentto the Constitutionis ratified, although many of its provisions will not be enforced until the 20th century.
1881: Booker T. Washingtonestablishes Tuskegee University, the first U.S. institution of higher learning to have a black faculty.
1903: W.E.B.Du Boispublishes The Souls of Black Folk, advocating the artistic and expressive strengthsthe soulof African American culture.
1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded as a biracial organization committed to fighting racial discrimination and segregation.
1911: The National Urban Leagueis founded in New York City to help African Americans find housing, employment, and education in northern cities.
1914: Marcus Garveyfounds the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League, a pan-Africanist organization that will win support from thousands of blacks across the United States and in other countries.
1915: Floods, cotton crop failures, and a reactivated Ku Klux Klanmotivate Southern rural African Americans to relocate to the North in search of employment, a process that will become known as the Great Migration.
1931: The Nation of Islam (initially known as the Temple of Islam) is founded by Wallace D. Fard.
1932: Duke Ellingtonrecords the jazz classic It Dont Mean a Thing If It Aint Got That Swing.
1936: Jesse Owenswins four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin.
1942: James L. Farmerand George Houser found the Congress of Racial Equality(CORE) to challenge racial segregation through organized, nonviolent protest.
1947: Jackie Robinsonsigns with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play major league baseball in modern times.
1951: The National Basketball Association opens its ranks to African Americans, allowing Chuck Cooperto sign with the Boston Celtics.
1954: The Supreme Courtrules in Brown v. Board of Educationthat the separate but equal doctrine allowing racial segregation has no place in the field of public education.
1955: Rosa Parksis arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, spurring the Montgomery bus boycottled by Martin Luther King, Jr.
1959: Miles Davisand his band record Kind of Blue, which will become one of the most influential and popular recordings in jazz history.
1963: More than 250,000 people from all over the United States participate in the March on Washington, demanding civil rights and economic equality for African Americans.
1964: President Lyndon Johnsonsigns the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning discrimination in voting, education, employment, and public accommodation.
1965: Malcolm Xis assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlemjust as he is about to address 400 followers.
1966: The Black Panther Partyis founded in Oakland, California, to combat police brutality.
1968: Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
1969: The Nixon administration develops the first affirmative action program, requiring that contractors on federally assisted projects set specific goals for hiring minorities.
1971: Jesse Jacksonfounds Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) in Chicago to work for the economic advancement of poor people.
1973: Marian Wright Edelmanfounds the Childrens Defense Fund, an organization that lobbies for childrens rights and welfare.
1977: Roots, the serialization of Alex Haleysstory of generations of his African and African American family, becomes the most popular television program in history.
1982: Michael Jacksonreleases Thriller, which will become the best-selling pop album of all time.
1983: Harold Washingtonis sworn in as the first African American mayorof Chicago.
1987: Toni Morrisonpublishes her novel Beloved, which is immediately hailed as a major literary achievement and will win her a Pulitzer Prize in 1988.
1989: General Colin Powellbecomes the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1992: Illinois congresswoman Carol Moseley-Braunbecomes the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
1995: Approximately 900,000 African American men come to the Million Man Marchin Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the social conditions of African Americans and to urge African American men to assume control over their lives.
2001: Condoleezza Ricebecomes the first woman and second African American (after Colin Powell) to hold the office of U.S. national security adviser, an in 2005 the first African American woman to become the Secretary of State.
African American History Month
Famous African American Contributors
Heroes of the Colored Race
Sketches of African American Leaders
Biographies of Notable African Americans
African American Achievers
African American Celebrities
African American History Month Presidential Proclamations
1989 - 1990 - 1997 - 2000 - 2001- 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005
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