- Americans have recognized black
history annually since 1926, first as "Negro History Week"
and later as "Black
History Month."
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- It was not until the 20th century
that they gained a respectable presence in the history
books.
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Black History Month is a
remembrance of the events in the history of the
African dissolution. Since 1976, it is
celebrated annually in the
U.S and
Canada in February and the
United Kingdom in the month of October. In the
U.S., Black History Month is also referred to as
African-American History Month.
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- Black History Month actually
started as Negro History Week in 1926 by
Carter G. Woodson.
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- When Carter G. Woodson started
Negro History Week, his purpose was for the history of
African Americans to become considered a more significant
part of American history as a whole.
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- The goal of Black History Week was
to educate the American people about African-Americans'
cultural backgrounds and achievements.
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- The purpose of Black History Month
is to promote awareness of African American history to the
general public.
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- During Black History Month, African
American history is taught to thousands of students at the
elementary, high school and university levels.
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- February is the month that Black
History Month is celebrated.
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-
Black History Month
is an annual celebration of achievements
by black Americans and a time for
recognizing the central role of African
Americans in U.S. history.
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- The event grew out of “Negro
History Week”
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- Since 1976, every U.S. president
has officially designated the month of February as Black
History Month.
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-
Other countries
around the world, including Canada and
the United Kingdom, also devote a month
to celebrating black history.
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- Woodson chose the second week of
February for Negro History Week because it marks the
birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black
American population,
Frederick Douglass and
Abraham Lincoln.
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- Woodson and Rev. Jesse E's goal was
to bring awareness to the role black people played in
American and Black history.
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- Carter was the son of former slaves
and the second black person to receive a degree from Harvard
University.
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- Woodson played a very important
role during his time. He provided learning materials to
teachers and black history clubs.
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- Woodson also published photographs
that depicted important figures in black culture.
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http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/ |