February is Black History Month, a month-long celebration honoring the contributions of African Americans throughout US history. Carter G. Woodson, considered the Father of Black History, established Negro History Week in 1926 through his organization, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which he co-founded with minister Jesse Moorland.
Woodson – an author, historian, and the second African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard – dedicated his career to African American History studies and lobbied to establish Black History Month as a nationwide celebration.
The second week of February was chosen for the week-long celebration to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The 1960s Civil Rights movement elevated the celebration and made it month-long. In 1976, 50 years after the first celebration, President Gerald Ford proclaimed February Black History Month.
This year’s theme, Black Resistance, focuses on how African Americans have fought repression throughout history.
Through our work at Children’s Place Association, we continue to serve our low-income and at-risk families, who are 52% African American, by providing them with access to the educational, health, and housing resources that help address long-standing systemic inequities and create pathways for them to become empowered in their lives.
Check out the below resources on Black History Month events happening around Chicago:
