Black History month honors Carter G. Woodson

Some of the most influential people in history have been African-American. These people include Barack Obama, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Frederick Douglass. Their enormous contributions to history have made February Black History Month. According to www.history.com, Black History Month originally started out as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a son of former slaves. While working towards each of his degrees, he was disappointed to find little information about African-American history in all of the history books. After receiving his Ph.D in 1912 from Harvard, Woodson went on to form the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, which is now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Today, ASALH is a not-for-profit organization that wishes to research and preserve information about African-American history and culture. They promote Black History Month, publish African-American works and sponsor essay contests.

In 1926, Woodson started the Negro History Week to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. By the time Woodson died in 1950, Negro History Week was a significant part of the year.

In 1976, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Negro History Week, the week of celebration turned into the entire month of February.

Each year has a theme to focus the month's celebrations on. The 2008 theme is "Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism." In honor of the work he did to establish the beginnings of the awareness of African-American culture and African-Americans' impact on history.

Since 1926, African-Americans have made a tremendous turnaround with their positions in society. The first African-American Secretary of State was Colin Powell, followed by current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Recently popular Barack Obama is currently the only African-American serving on the United States Senate.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Justice followed by Clarence Thomas in 1991. The first African-American ambassador to the United Nations was Andrew Young in 1977.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended all segregation in any United States school and public place. More recently, in 2001, Dr. Ruth Simmons became the first African-American president of Brown University and still holds the position today.

Sidney Poitier was the first African-American to win an Academy Award for best actor in his performance in Lilies of the Field. Halle Berry won the Academy Award for best actress for her performance in Monster's Ball.

Philadelphia is holding activities to celebrate Black History Month. On Saturday, Feb. 16, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is holding an African Culture Day. GoPhila.com says it will feature dance, music, activities and gallery tours. The PA Convention Center will be holding a Black History Showcase with exhibits and artifacts from African-American history.

For more events that are occurring in Philadelphia for Black History Month go to www.gophila.com, click on "events" and then do a search for Black History Month.

African-Americans have made a significant impact on America's history and should be recognized not only in textbooks, but in all mediums. Woodson cultivated the awareness by creating Negro History Week in order to spread the impact of African-Americans in America's history. His contributions and the works of others are the reasons why we celebrate Black History month each year.

Jenn Halligan is a first year student majoring in English Education with a minor in Spanish. She can be reached at JH653435@wcupa.edu.