Feature of the Month: February 2007
President Bush Attends Ceremonial Groundbreaking of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
FEBRUARY IS AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard Ph.D. and founder of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH), initiated "Negro History Week." Dr. Woodson chose for February for "Negro History Week" because it held the birthdays of two great Americans: Frederick Douglass, a former slave, renowned orator, journalist, and advocate; and Abraham Lincoln, America's sixteenth president who, on January 1, 1863 issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free slaves within the American Confederacy. It was Dr. Woodson's hope that through this special observance, all Americans would be reminded of their ethnic roots, and that togetherness in the United States' racial groups would develop out of a mutual respect.
During America's Bicentennial celebration in 1976, Dr. Woodson's Association expanded the week's celebration to include the entire month to provide more time for programs, observances and celebrations. The idea of the entire month caught on and ASALH was besieged with requests from all over the country to continue observing for one month, to provide more time to the nation and local communities for Afro-American Black History programs. The first official Black History Month was announced in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford, who urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."
President Bush with volunteers at Cardozo Senior High School in Washington, D.C.
Each year, the U.S. president honors African American History Month with a proclamation and a celebration at the White House. States and cities hold their own events around the country, and the media features topics related to black history.
The theme for this year's African American History Month is “From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas,” inspired by historian John Hope Franklin's book "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans."
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