2008 Woodie Awards
Black History month honors Carter G. Woodson
By Jenn Halligan
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Features
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.
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.
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tommy
posted 2/13/08 @ 4:41 AM EST
I have to say, i never knew who started or where Black History Month came from. i was watching a television show and they mentioned Dr. Woodson. i looked him up and found out a lot more then i thought i would. (Continued…)
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