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Inside this issue:

  

 Black History Month had its origins in the United States and was the idea of African American Scholar and educator Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Dr. Woodson was one of the first Black Americans to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University.  In 1922 at the age of 47, he gave up his distinguished career as a university professor to dedicate himself to research and writing on the African American experience.  Among Dr. Woodson's publications are The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861; History of the Negro Church; Negro Makers of History; African Heroes and Heroines; and perhaps his most famous book, The Miseducation of the Negro.

 

Dr. Woodson argued that the African American experience was a worthy subject of study. He also called for a time when the "hidden history and culture" of American peoples could be celebrated.  In 1926, Dr. Woodson declared Black History Week. February was chosen for this week because of the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.  In the 1970's this call became entrenched as several Black organizations and community leaders have banded together to promote the concept of Black History Month.  In Nova Scotia, the celebration of Black History Month, through the efforts of the Black History Month Association has steadily grown with more events being presented and escalating attendance figures. The celebration of Black History Month is the most enduring legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a profound scholar of African American History.

 

   Source: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/thisweek/2006/020106/blkhistmo.htm

               

                                                                                        

                                           

           

  

                            

February is National Black History Month

February 2009  Issue # 32

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Dr. Carter G. Woodson