Black History Month: the origins and the celebration

By Zenell Brown

Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) in February 1926 announced the first Negro History Week. February was ideal as it contained the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Negro History Week became Black History Month in 1970 when it was celebrated at Kent State where Oscar W. Ritchie (1909–1967) was the first African American to receive full-time faculty status at a predominantly white university in
the state of Ohio (1943). He planted seeds of activism on the campus, was active in the local NAACP chapter, and was later named chair of the Sociology Department.

This month Kent State honors 55 years of Black History Month with “The Black Experience: Resiliency, Reclamation, Recovery.”

In 1976, President Gerald Ford, implored the nation to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Hence, 1976 marks the bicentennial celebration of the United States as a nation and the birth of Black History Month.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is celebrating its 60th anniversary and continues to live its mission to “open minds and changes lives through the exploration and celebration of  African American history and
culture.”

Dr. Wright (1918-2002) opened the International Afro-American Museum on West Grand Boulevard in 1965 and conducted traveling tours of the artifacts before the museum moved to its current and permanent location in midtown
Detroit.

The “I, Charles Wright” exhibit is open during Black History Month.

“The Judge Damon J. Keith” interactive exhibit is a celebration of Judge Keith’s life of service and must see for all in the legal community.

During Black History Month, people from all backgrounds are invited to learn its origins, honor the contributors, and join the celebration.

Museum info can be found at www.thewright.org