Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Americans have recognized Black History annually since 1926, first as "Negro History Week" and later as "Black History Month." What you might not know is that Black History had barely begun to be studied-or even documented-when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable presence in the history books

We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and more importantly, the study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. The scholar was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population-and when blacks did figure into the picture, most representation of blacks in history books was only in reference to the low social position they held as slaves and their descendants.

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 (US),Canada and the United Kingdomin February in the month of February.

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.