Black History Month 2022: Honoring the Past and Looking Toward the Future

African American history began in the 16th century, but many researchers are beginning to believe that enslaved Africans were forcefully taken from their land as early as the 1500s. The African diaspora was a mass movement of people to all corners of the world, contributing the the presence of African Americans today.

Over 46 million enslaved people were brought into the United States, and served as slaves for almost 300 years. It was not until the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment that they were considered people and not property.

In 1915, about half a century after the Thirteen Amendment abolished slavery, historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The ASNLH had a mission to research and analyze achievements made by Black Americans.

In 1962, the group would choose the second week of February to become the first national Negro History Week, coinciding with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. National Negro History Week captured the attention of schools, churches and communities around the country, and each made sure to host their own celebrations.

This nationwide celebration was propelled by the civil rights movement, where the country began to recognize the significance of African American culture in their daily lives. Negro History Week, for many, had quickly evolved into Black History Month.

By 1976, former President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month, telling the nation to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”