Black History Month: From Abraham Lincoln to Frederick Douglass
Black History Month began as “Black History Week” in 1926. I have previously documented the history of black history month here: “The History of Black History Month.”
There, I note that Professor Carter G. Woodson was the intellectual and spiritual force behind the idea of commemorating and celebrating the long, sordid, tragic yet ultimately triumphant history of Africans in America.
Dr. Woodson chose the week of February 12 through February 17 to mark and observe the accomplishments and challenges of black folk in the US.
Any number of critics of the very concept of “Black History,” as well as not a few people who welcome the notion, question why Professor Woodson singled out February, the shortest month of the year, to honor the black presence in America. And, some have questioned why the good professor picked that particular week in February.
The answer, of course, is that in Dr. Woodson’s eyes, the two most significant figures in Black History (American style, that is, not counting ancient Africa itself) were Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and Douglass on February 17, 1817 (although Douglass acknowledged in his 1845 autobiography…
