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February 1-29, 2024
About Black History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.
By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all colors on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first Black History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued Black History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.
(Excerpt from an essay by Daryl Michael Scott, Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History)
https://blackhistorymonth.gov/
Podcast
History is Us is a riveting podcast that unveils how the United States moved from the idea of a Radical Reconstruction to today. Listening to this series will reveal a throughline of racism in our history that we all need to be able to identify, understand, and disrupt.
Video Short
Black beauty and Black excellence is an important part of Black culture. Pharrell Williams’ song “Entrepreneur" is set to images of contemporary moving portraits of ground-shaking entrepreneurs who are Black.
Feature-length Films
Making Black America, a 2022 project with Henry Louis Gate’s, Jr, traces the power of organizations and networks that created a sense of home, beauty, joy, laughter, and uplift for Black people wrestling with the persistence of racism.Article
This link brings us into an exploration of US policy that has guided relationships between our native population and the United States. This site can easily be used as a 1-2 period lesson for students and community members.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/lesson-plan/native-american-policyBooks
These 44 African Americans shook up the world. Review this list of individuals and their brief biographies and discover why it is that the list contains just 44. https://andscape.com/features/the-undefeated-44-most-influential-black-americans-in-history/#introduction“Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more.” Caste: The Origins of our Discontent
IATSE Model
Many of you enjoy the experience of engaging in a little bit of insight and knowledge each and every day. The link above will bring you to a 21-day challenge where you and your students can choose to learn a little bit each day throughout Black History Month.
*Go to https://blackhistorymonth.gov/ for the latest information and updates.