The Association of Texas Professional Educators is inviting students and parents to celebrate Black History Month in 2021. | Pixabay
The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) is inviting students and parents to celebrate Black History Month in 2021.
February is Black History Month, a nationwide call for all Americans to recognize the significant part African Americans have played in shaping U.S. history.
Historian Carter G. Woodson is usually credited with the creation of Black History Month. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH) in 1915 and developed Negro History Week in 1926. He originally chose the second week of February for the event, because it contained the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln, two figures significant to Black history.
Douglass escaped slavery and became an abolitionist and civil rights leader and celebrated his birthday on Feb. 14. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery in America’s confederate states, and was born on Feb. 12.
In 1976, Negro History Week was expanded for the whole month of February as Black History Month.
ASALH has declared 2021's theme for Black History Month is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity" and has also curated a virtual festival for this year's celebration.
Additional resources for visitors interested in Black History Month is available on ATPE's website.
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