Origins of Black History Month

The origins of Black History Month can be traced back to a man named Carter G. Woodson born on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, to Anna Eliza and James Woodson. He of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate from Harvard, Woodson dedicated his career to the field of African-American history. Woodson chose the second week of February to celebrate Negro History Week because that week included the birthdays of two important men: President Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14). When Negro History Week turned into Black History Month in 1976, the celebrations during the second week of February expanded to the entire month of February.