Black History Month

Each year beginning on February 1, an entire month of events are planned nationwide honoring the history and contributions of African Americans.

Black History Month began in 1926 as part of an initiative by writer and educator Dr. Carter G. Woodson who launched Negro History Week in 1926. Woodson proclaimed that Negro History Week should always occur in the second week of February —between the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Since 1976, every American president has proclaimed February as Black History Month. Today, other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom also devote an entire month to celebrating black history.

Did you know the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute provides free educational programs to K-12 students that introduce and explore the lessons of the civil rights movement? Incorporating interactive programs such as “Tug-of-war” to describe the events of 1963 (The Children’s March and the Sixteenth Street Church Bombing), role-play, oral histories and documentary films. BCRI empowers students with a better understanding of the civil rights movement’s complexities.

If you would like us to visit your school or organization, contact our Education Department at (205) 328-9696, ext. 246 or bcri@bcri.org.