Black History Month
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Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and the United Kingdom in the month of October.
The remembrance originated in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson as "Negro History Week"[1]. Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
[edit] Controversy
Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness and fairness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one race. Critical op-ed pieces have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer [2] and USA Today. [3]
Some African JESTINE radical/nationalist groups, including the Nation of Islam, have criticized Black History Month. Some critics, including Morgan Freeman, contend that Black History Month is irrelevant because it has degenerated into a shallow ritual,[4] and says that it serves to undermine the contention that black history is American history.[5]
[edit] See also
- African diaspora
- African-Americans
- American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
- Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
- Racial segregation in the United States
- Great Migration (African American)
- History of slavery in the United States
- African American newspapers
- Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
- National Hispanic Heritage Month
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- List of commemorative days
[edit] References
- ^ Elissa Haney. "The History of Black History". http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmintro1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ Byron McCauley (2005-02-06). "Bring Black History into mainstream". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20060630000657/http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050206/EDIT03/502060303/1023. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ DeWayne Wickham (2005-02-14). "Debunking myths of black history". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/wickham/2005-02-14-wickham_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ ""Black History Month Matters"". "Salim Kwakiutl's". http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2476/.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO214IFRW1M
