Speaker 1: Right now it is time for the way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: And since this is the beginning of Black History Month,
Speaker 1: we are going to discuss the history of Black History Months.
Speaker 1: So I'm going to share a bit from the Association
Speaker 1: for the Study of African American Life and History. Okay,
Speaker 1: the story of Black History Month begins in Chicago. During
Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen fifteen, and alumnus of the University
Speaker 1: of Chicago with many friends in the city, Cartergie Woodson,
Speaker 1: traveled from Washington, d c. To participate in a national
Speaker 1: celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation sponsored by the
Speaker 1: State of Illinois. Thousands of African Americans traveled from across
Speaker 1: the country to see exhibits highlighting the progress their people
Speaker 1: had made since the destruction of slavery. Awarded a doctorate
Speaker 1: in Harvard three years earlier, Woodson joined the other exhibitors
Speaker 1: with a Black History display. Despite being held at the Colisseum,
Speaker 1: the site of the nineteen twelve Republican Convention, an overflow
Speaker 1: crowd of six to twelve thousand waited outside for their
Speaker 1: turn to view the exhibits. Fired by the three week celebration,
Speaker 1: Woodson decided to form an organization to promote the scientific
Speaker 1: study of black life and history. Before leaving town on
Speaker 1: September ninth, Woodson met at the Wabash YMCA with A. L.
Speaker 1: Jackson and three others and formed the Association for the
Speaker 1: Study of Negro Life and History. A graduate member of
Speaker 1: Omega sci Fi, he urged his fraternity brothers to take
Speaker 1: up the work. In nineteen twenty four, they responded with
Speaker 1: the creation of Negro History and Literature Week, which they
Speaker 1: renamed Negro Achievement Week. Their outreach was significant, but Woodson
Speaker 1: desired greater impact. As he told an audience of Hampton
Speaker 1: Institute students, quote, we are going back to that beautiful
Speaker 1: history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.
Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty five, he decided that the Association had
Speaker 1: to shoulder the responsibility going forward. It would both create
Speaker 1: and popularize knowledge about the black past. He sent out
Speaker 1: a press release announcing Negro History Week in February nineteen
Speaker 1: twenty six. It is commonly said that Woodson selected February
Speaker 1: to encompass the birthdays of the two great Americans who
Speaker 1: played dominant roles in shaping Black history, namely Abraham Lincoln
Speaker 1: and Frederick Douglas, whose birthdays are the twelfth and fourteenth, respectively.
Speaker 1: From the beginning, Woodson was overwhelmed with the response to
Speaker 1: his call. Negro History Week appeared across the country in
Speaker 1: schools and before the public. The nineteen twenties was the
Speaker 1: decade of the New Negro, a name given to the
Speaker 1: World War One generation because of its rising racial pride
Speaker 1: and consciousness. Urbanization and industrialization had brought over a million
Speaker 1: African Americans from the rural South into some big cities
Speaker 1: in the nation. In the nineteen forties, efforts began slowly
Speaker 1: within the black community to expand the study of black
Speaker 1: history in the schools and Black History celebrations before the
Speaker 1: public and the South, Black teachers often taught Negro history
Speaker 1: as a supplement to United States history. One early beneficiary
Speaker 1: of the movement reported that his teacher would hide Woodson's
Speaker 1: textbook beneath the desk to avoid drawing the wrath of
Speaker 1: the principal sound familiar. During the Civil Rights movement in
Speaker 1: the South, the Freedom schools incorporated black history into the
Speaker 1: curriculum advanced social change. The Negro History movement was an
Speaker 1: intellectual insurgency that was part of every larger effort to
Speaker 1: transform race relations. The nineteen sixties had a dramatic effect
Speaker 1: on the study and celebration of black history. Before the
Speaker 1: decade was over, Negro History Week would be well on
Speaker 1: its way to becoming Black History Month. The shift to
Speaker 1: a month long celebration began even before doctor Woodson's death.
Speaker 1: As early as nineteen forties, Blacks in West Virginia, a
Speaker 1: state where Woodson often spoke, began to celebrate February as
Speaker 1: Negro History Month. Okay, that was kind of in pieces,
Speaker 1: So the full article is up and it's been cited.
Speaker 1: This is just something from Wikipedia. Just wanted to add.
Speaker 1: Black History Month was being celebrated all across the country
Speaker 1: and educational institutions, centers for black culture, and community centers
Speaker 1: both great and small. When President Gerald Ford recognized Black
Speaker 1: History Month in nineteen seventy six during celebration of the
Speaker 1: United States bysin Tenative tennial, the arge Americans to seize
Speaker 1: the opportunity to honor the two often neglected accomplishments of
Speaker 1: Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.
Speaker 1: So that's the history of that history. To say, mm hmm,