Honoring Black History Month With Facts & Recommendations

When and how did Black History Month originate? In 1926, Carter G. Woodson, a Black historian and author, recognized that despite the fact that Black Americans were deeply integral to the history of the United States, their accomplishments and successes were continuously left out of American history. To help remedy this, Woodson established the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in 1915. The ASALH sought to preserve, research, and share information about Black life and culture. Eleven years later, Woodson launched the first Black History Week, in between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays in February. In 1976, President Gerald Ford established the first national Black History Month.

Black history is often whitewashed, made to be more “palatable.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prime example of this. MLK Jr., a radical civil rights activist, was disliked by a majority of Americans in 1966 (Theoharris). His image as a peaceful protester has been used to argue against riots and Black Lives Matter protests, when in reality, Dr. King believed that “a riot is the language of the unheard.” This brief example is just a starting point. Black history is American history. Celebrating Black history and Black excellence should be a year-long event. As we work toward making this a reality, we recognize that in the past, we have failed our Black community members, students, staff, and faculty. Throughout the month of February and into the rest of the spring semester, there will be ongoing events and programs centered around Black history and anti-racism. They can be found on The View Events under the Cultural Programming topic filter. More events will continue to be added in the coming weeks.

Below is a short list of podcast episodes, music, books, and poems by Black creators. The goal of this list is to celebrate the work of Black creators throughout history.  For a more thorough list of educational and anti-racism resources, see this article. By no means are either of these exhaustive lists. We encourage you to spend time reflecting on these works.