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Statue of Woodson in Huntington, West Virginia
Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and the United Kingdom in the month of October.
History
The remembrance was founded in 1926 by United States historian Carter G. Woodson as "Negro History Week".[1] Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Purpose
When the tradition of Black History Month had started in the US, many in mainstream academia had barely begun to explore black history. At that point, most representation of blacks in history books was only in reference to the low social position they held as slaves and their descendants, with infrequent exceptions such is that of George Washington Carver. In the US, Black History Month is also referred to as African-American History Month. W.E.B. DuBois' 1935 work Black Reconstruction was an early work in history that pointed to black contributions.[2]
Controversy
Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness and fairness of a month dedicated to the history of one race. Critical op-ed pieces have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer[3] and USA Today.[4] In October 2009, black British online magazine Catch a Vibe asked its readers if Black History Month was still relevant.[5]
Some African radical/nationalist groups, including the Nation of Islam, have criticized Black History Month. Some critics, including actor Morgan Freeman, contend that Black History Month is irrelevant because it has degenerated into a shallow ritual.[6] He says that it serves to undermine the contention that black history "is" American history.
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