What is Black History month? It was originally founded as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson to help promote and preserve information about African American life, history, and culture to the global community. The second week of February was first chosen for this remembrance as two Americans who greatly influenced the lives of African Americans celebrated birthdays in February: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Woodson, who earned a PhD from Harvard in the early years of the twentieth century, helped form the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) in 1915 and The Journal of Negro History in 1916 to promote the scientific study of Black life and history. Woodson believed history was made by ordinary people, not just the few famous men normally remembered in history books, and he wanted to publicize the contributions of countless Black men and women who had contributed to the advance of human civilization.
The study of Black history expanded throughout the next half-century, and on February 10, 1976, during the United States Bicentennial, President Gerald R. Ford became the first president to issue a message recognizing Black History Month. In 1986, Congress designated February as Black History Month, and schools, museums, libraries, and other places across the country use the month to examine and re-examine notable Black accomplishments.
The theme for 2026 is “A Century of Black History Commemorations.” In announcing the theme, the ASNLH says, “We have never had more need to examine the role of Black History Month than we do when forces weary of democracy seek to use legislative means and book bans to excise Black history from America’s schools and public culture. Black history’s value is not its contribution to mainstream historical narratives, but its resonance in the lives of Black people.”
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