February is National African American History Month
The Proclamation of National African American History Month during the month of February comes directly from the Office of the Press Secretary.
To quote the Press Secretary release:
This year’s theme, “The History of Black Economic Empowerment,” calls upon us to honor the African Americans who overcame injustice and inequality to achieve financial independence and the security of self empowerment that comes with it.
Canada also recognizes Black History month during the month of february.
Below is a clip from Martin Luther King Jr’s powerful speech “I Have a Dream.” Martin Luther King Jr is also quoted as saying: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The US government has set up a website, africanamericanhistorymonth.gov, that you can check out to pay tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
A cool site that was set up by biography.com is the 101 Fast Facts about Black History page. Here you can learn facts like Fact #22: L.P. Ray invented the dustpan in 1897, or Fact #41 Lewis Howard Latimer drafted patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, while working at a patent law firm. There are many more examples of achievements of Black Americans throughout history.
The US Census has set up a page for African American History Month dedicated to the current and projected statistics of African Americans. Two stats that are relevant to the Eduify community are the fact that there were 2.5 million black students in college in 2008, and among blacks 25 and older 1.4 million already have an advanced degree.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History tracks the themes of Black history month from the inception of this memorable month, When Carter G. Woodson established Negro History week in 1926.
The White House even held a concert for Black History Month. Below is a video of that concert which featured an all-star line up of musicians including the Blind Boys of Alabama, Yolanda Adams, Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson and others sang freedom songs in remembrance of the civil rights movement.
President Obama even joined in and sang during one of the songs. CBN has a page with full coverage of the event.
Feedback
How have you commemorated African American History Month? Share your thoughts about this month, and about the notable black Americans from recent history in the comments below.
