Black History Month

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What you need to know about the origins of Black History Month

Black History Month is considered one of the nation’s oldest organized history celebrations, and has been recognized by U.S. presidents for decades through proclamations and celebrations. Here is some information about the history of Black History Month.

https://apnews.com/article/black-history-month-things-to-know?

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? Black history, 50 years ago

Hank Aaron's mother, Estella, hugs him after he breaks Babe Ruth's all-time home run record on April 8, 1974. Photo: Bettmann Archive via Getty Images The year 1974 gave the world monumental moments in Black history, from Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record to the Boston busing riots to big moments in Hollywood, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. For Black History Month, Axios is looking back 50 years. Photo: William C. Curtis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Above: Students sit on a bus from Columbia Point to Roxbury High School on Sept. 13, 1974, the second day of school under the new busing system to desegregate Boston Public Schools. The system was met with resistance and violence from many Boston residents. Photo: Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Archive Photos via Getty Images Above: American actress and singer Pam Grier and her brother, actor Rodney Grier, attend the 7th NAACP Image Awards, held at the Hollywood Palladium in January 1974. "After decades in which black women typically appeared in movies as maids, Grier broke the mold completely," The New Yorker reports. She starred in action films, portraying heroines who fought the bad guys. More pics.

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? Black history grant winners

The Ira Aldridge Theater. Photo courtesy Visual14 via African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

Two D.C. sites are receiving grants to preserve African American culture in the U.S. Why it matters: The Ira Aldridge Theater at Howard University and the Masjid Muhammad mosque near Shaw each won grants of $150,000 from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The big picture: Sites across America representing Black history "have been overlooked and undervalued," says Brent Leggs, the group's director. The fund announced $3 million in grants on Thursday to help preserve 30 sites nationwide. ? Zoom in: Ira Aldridge was a 19th-century Black actor famed for portraying Shakespearean characters. The theater named after him at Howard University was built in 1961 and designed by famed African American architects Hilyard Robinson and Paul R. Williams. The grant will fund a "historic structures report and an interpretation plan," according to the fund. The Masjid Muhammad. Photo courtesy EA Crunden via African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund ? The Masjid Muhammad, also called "The Nation's Mosque," was built in 1960 and designed by David R. Byrd. The modernist site is home to one of America's oldest Black Muslim congregations. The mosque will use grant funding for a LEED-certified expansion and other improvements.

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Black History Month: What Octavia Butler saw

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Malcolm Ali/WireImage via Getty Images

Science fiction writer Octavia Butler wrote in her 1993 novel "Parable of the Sower" that Feb. 1, 2025, would be a time of fires, violence, racism, addiction, climate change, social inequality and an authoritarian "President Donner." That day is today, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. The big picture: This Black History Month, which begins this year on a day of Butler's dystopian vision, Axios will examine what the next 25 years may hold for Black Americans based on the progress in the first quarter of this century. Through her fiction, Butler foresaw U.S. society's direction and the potential for civil societies to collapse thanks to the weight of economic disparities and climate change — with blueprints for hope . State of play: This year, the month-long celebration of Black American accomplishments and perseverance will be commemorated amid uncertainty after the Trump administration ordered government agencies to end DEI policies. The move is confusing some agencies on whether Black history can even be acknowledged this year. Alabama and other states have passed bills limiting the discussion of race and Black history in public schools. Go deeper into Butler's world.

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Black History Month explained: Its origins, celebrations and myths

WASHINGTON (AP) — Beginning Feb. 1, schools, museums and communities across the nation will mark the start of Black History Month –- a celebration of Black history, culture and education.

https://apnews.com/article/black-history-month-trump-african-american-history-29aac21db2fdb11d29b1223d1ee95caf?

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5 Reasons Christians Should Care about Black History Month

February is the month of love, presidential birthday celebrations, and if you live in the Northeast like me, wondering if that groundhog was really telling the truth about six more weeks of winter. But February is also when we celebrate Black History Month. 

https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/reasons-christians-should-care-about-black-history-month.html?

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Meet the father of Black History Month

Black History Month is nearly over, and all month long, we’ve had a chance to reflect on the countless contributions Black Americans have made to our society. Before it ends next week, CNN spotlighted a few unsung heroes who worked to dismantle segregation, encouraged reparations and broke barriers for generations of Black Americans to follow.    Did you know, though, that we owe Black History Month to a man named Carter G. Woodson? The historian is widely considered the father of Black History Month, though he didn’t live to see its establishment. The son of formerly enslaved people, Woodson taught himself to read and do arithmetic after working as a child in coal mines and quarries. After earning several degrees from prestigious universities, including a doctorate from Harvard, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in the early 20th century, dedicated to uncovering and preserving the experiences and contributions of Black Americans. It took 50 years for Negro History Week, which he founded in 1926, to become Black History Month.    Woodson made February Black History Month for two important birthdays it contains: Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln were both born in February, and for their contributions to the end of slavery in the US, Woodson made their birth month an especially important one.

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? 1 for the road: Black history adds screen time

"Lyla in the Loop" on PBS Kids. Photo: Mighty Picnic LLC

More kids are learning about Black history through their favorite programs as new kids' shows get more diverse, Axios' Maxwell Millington writes. By the numbers: Some 57% of all characters in kid's programming launched in 2023 were people of color, according to an analysis from The Geena Davis Institute. Case in point: "Lyla in the Loop," a PBS Kids show centered around a 7-year-old Jamaican American girl and her family, includes episodes that celebrate Jamaica Day and highlight Black inventors and history-makers like Mae Jemison. In "Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum," a time-traveling trio meet Black history-makers, including Willard Wigan, Zora Neale Hurston, Jackie Robinson and Wilma Rudolph. ? What's next: This year, PBS Kids is introducing two new animated shows that prominently feature Black characters: "Weather Hunters" (created by and starring Al Roker) and "Phoebe and Jay." Cartoon Network will premiere a new animated series centered around Nigerian culture and mythology in April. Keep reading.

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💰 Funding Black history

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Private nonprofits and Black philanthropists are stepping in to save endangered Black history touchstones, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. Why it matters: Private Black funding is becoming the last line of defense for many sites central to the country's democratic and civil rights memory, as the federal government retreats from preservation. Nonprofits, activists and donors have moved quickly to rescue threatened sites: ⭐ Celebrity backing: Shonda Rhimes' foundation funded the $1.5 million purchase of the Mississippi barn where Emmett Till was tortured and killed in 1955. ⛪ Nonprofit funding: The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced $5 million in grants to preserve five historically Black churches, from L.A. to Chicago and Selma, Ala. 🏠 Community ownership: An artist collective bought Nina Simone's childhood home in North Carolina, while a development team in Kansas City is working to save Negro League legend Satchel Paige's home.