Black History month preserves heritage
Parisa Amini
The month of February brings remembrance of the many African-American people from times gone by who have made a difference in our world thanks to Black History Month.
African-American history is vast, and notable people such as Lorraine Hansberry, Billie Holiday and Gill Scott-Heron have contributed greatly.
They are a part of the reason why February is commemorated.
Many people know of this historical month, but few know where it all started.
The celebration of Black History Month, and more importantly, the study of black history, is owed to Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
The son of former slaves, Woodson spent much of his childhood working in the Kentucky coalmines and quarries, and little in school.
Most of his education was self-taught and by the age of 19, he entered high school where he completed a four-year curriculum in two.
He went on to receive his Masters degree in history from the University of Chicago, and he eventually earned a PhD from Harvard.
Woodson was a member of the fraternity Omega Psi Phi.
Bothered that history textbooks largely ignored America’s black population, Woodson took on the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation’s history.
He established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History).
Woodson also founded the group’s publication, the “Journal of Negro History.”
He devoted his life to historical research and constantly worked to preserve the history of African-Americans and their contributions to society.
Woodson worked to get others involved in celebrating black history.
He urged black civic organizations and his fraternity brothers to take up the work and help to uncover the history of the race.
In 1926, Woodson single-handedly founded the celebration of Negro History Week for the second week in February, to coincide with the birthdays of two pinoeers in black history.
They are the 16th President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, abolitionist and civil rights leader.
Woodson’s work for African-American history led to him becoming known as the “Father of Black History.”
In 1976, the week became nationally recognized, and was expanded to Black History Month.
The month is also sometimes referred to as African-American Heritage Month.
Clubs like the NAACP and Black Student Union in the community college district will be hosting events on various campuses in celebration of Black History Month.
For more information about events happening on campus, visit the diversity website at http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/about/administration/president/diversity.
To find out about events in the Phoenix area, visit http://www.phxsoul.com. Notable moments in African-American history
1831: Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher, leads the most significant slave uprising in American history.
1849: Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery and becomes a celebrated leader of the Underground Railroad.
1863: President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all U.S. slaves are free.
1870: Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote.
1947: Jackie Robinson breaks MLB’s color barrier when he is signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give-up her bus seat to a white man.
1963: 250,000 march on Washington and Martin Luther King delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
2008: Barack Obama is elected the first African-American President.
