1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: lauring bog obaum here. America has officially celebrated Black History 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: Month since February of nineteen seventy six, when President Gerald R. 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: Ford established it as a national observance in an address 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: that lauded its founder, African American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: and the quote impressive contributions of Black Americans to our 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: national life and culture. But why February wasn't chosen willy nilly? 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: Or does February have special significance? We owe the celebration 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: of Black History Month to Woodson, who made it his 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: life's work to increase public awareness of African American history 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: and culture. Known as the Father of Black History, this 12 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: son of former slaves worked his way out of the 13 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: Kentucky coal mines to become a Harvard educated historian and journalist. 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: Disheartened to discover that history books excluded the Black experience 15 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: of American life beyond ways that portrayed black people as 16 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: socially inferior, he took on the challenge of writing a proud, 17 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: out and true African American history into America's national consciousness. 18 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: Woodson wrote those who have no record of what their 19 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: teaching of biography and history. With that in mind, in 21 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, he founded the Association for the Study of 22 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: Negro Life in History now the Association for the Study 23 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: of African American Life and History and the Seminal Journal 24 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: of Negro History in nineteen sixteen, later renamed the Journal 25 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: of African American History. In February of nineteen twenty six, 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: he introduced the celebration of negroh History Week as a 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: way to shine a light on the myriad contributions of 28 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: black people throughout American history. Woodson and the Association chose 29 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: the second week in February to launch the celebratory week 30 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, whose 31 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three Emancipation Proclamation and its slavery and Frederick Douglas, 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: the former slave turned social reformer who became a national 33 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: force in the abolitionist movement. Other February events of historical 34 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: merit included the birth of civil rights icon W. E. B. 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: Du Bois and the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment on 36 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: February third, eighteen seventy, which recognized the right of African 37 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: American men to vote. The notion of expanding the week 38 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: to a month evolved over the decades leading up to 39 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: and during the Civil Rights movement of the nineteen sixties. 40 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: Freedom schools in the South incorporated the week into their curricula, 41 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: and by the mid nineteen sixties, many colleges and universities 42 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: across the country began to transform the week long event 43 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: into a month long celebration on their campuses. Leaders of 44 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: the Black United Students Organization at Kent State University proposed 45 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: expanding it to a month, and in nineteen seventy they 46 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: celebrated Black History Month for the first time on their campus. 47 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 1: By the time President Ford made it a national observance 48 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy six, many mayors had already endorsed it 49 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: as a municipal celebration. Each iteration of the event since 50 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: its inception in ninety six has had a specific theme, 51 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: as stated by the association, The theme for twenty is 52 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: African Americans and the Vote, marking the one and fiftieth 53 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: Anniverse three of the Fifteenth Amendment and the one anniversary 54 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: of the nineteenth amendment by which women gained the vote 55 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: as well. This year's theme honors the struggles and triumphs 56 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: of black citizens and elected officials in securing access to 57 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: these rights and highlights the importance of the vote in 58 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: this an important election year. Today's episode was written by 59 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: Carrie Tatro and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is 60 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on 61 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: this and lots of other topics, visit our home planet, 62 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts from 63 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 64 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.