Kasandra Soutullo
On January 2, 1970 in Kent State the first day of Black History Month was celebrated. Black History Month was celebrated till February 28th. But it all started with Negro History Week.
It all started in 1915, half a century after slavery was abolished by the thirteenth amendment. September of 1915, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). It was an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by peoples of African descent. “The group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures.” ( History.com) Soon many mayors across the country started recognizing “Negro History Week”, which then evolved to “Black History Month.”
In 1976 president Gerald Ford recognized “Black History Month” and told the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since then, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. But not only the U.S recognizes this precious month but also other countries including Canada and United Kingdom.
John Mercer Langston, Thurgood Marshall, Hiram Rhodes Revels, and Shirley Chisholm are just some very important names. For example, Mr. Langston was the first African American man to become a lawyer when he passed the bar in 1854 to then in 1855 become one of the first African Americans ever to be elected to public office in American, or when Mr. Marshall Was the first African American ever appointed to the U.S Supreme Court, and when Mr.Revels was the first African American ever elected to the U.S Senate, also when Ms. Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives.
Black history month and week were created to celebrate all African Americans achievements.
In conclusion, the month of February is meant to celebrate achievements, remember the tough time but celebrate the good ones, to remember our ancestors and everything they went through just so we can sit and drink coffee together, be in the same school, and get treated equally. We have come a long way, but there is still somethings we need to change. Black History Month was made celebrate the blood that is running in our veins.
The way Miami Springs will celebrate black history month will be a series of of events throughout the month. Those events will be: A HBCU college fair on the 14th of February, a Black History event in the gym on the 21st of February, a black history luncheon on the 28th, trivia’s in the announcements once a week, the first two students to get the answer right will get a prize, every Wednesday the announcements will speak about a well-known African American, and lastly every club will say a fun fact on the PA in the after noon.
Black History Month 💦
Yoselyn Bodes
Black History Month is a annual celebration in the United States that commemorates the achievements that the African Americans have accomplished. It was first founded in the 1900s by a historian called Carter G. Woodson. Carter and an association, that was dedicated to the studies of Negro life, declared that the second week of February to being the “Negro History Week.” Since there were so many positive responses, representatives from different states decided to embrace the celebration as a holiday. The event is so significant to many that people often take the time to educate younger people about the month to spread awareness of the past struggles. They should, however, take the time to teach these students more about different individuals who also left an important mark in history as schools almost always talk about the same people every year.
This annual event is important to recognize as it teaches us about the struggles that African Americans went through to gain justice and liberty in the U.S. The more we learn about the subject, the more we are willing to have a deeper understanding of history. Schools usually take this month as a way to educate young children about these past events. They usually teach students about important figures that lead to the accomplishment of getting their freedom. Some significant people they talk about are Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Maya Angelou. There are plenty of others but those are the main ones schools talk about.
An unfortunate thing that happens every year is that people don’t take the time to spread more awareness to different figures in history. Every year, society talks about the 5 people who they believe did the most for history. They fail to notice that there are plenty of other individuals that worked as hard as them to make a change. People often forget about Claudette Colvin, a young girl who refused to move out of her seat and stood up for her rights. Another person that society forgets about is Bessie Coleman, this woman made a huge contribution to changes in history as she became the first African American woman to become an aviator. These were some of the people that made a huge impact in history. Even if it doesn’t look significant, they still made a contribution in their part by fighting for their rights.
This month is incredibly important as we are able to look back and see the changes and growth of society over time. February, often called the month of love, is also a month that enables us to deeply understand past experiences in the world. The more we are educated about the past, the more we learn ways to stop ourselves from creating the same mistakes. Reasons such as those are why we should continue to honor those leaders who spent their time standing up for their human rights.
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/10-black-history-little-known-facts/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bessie-coleman