He Started A Centuries-Long Celebration Of Blackness

black history month display in new york city library
Briona Lamback
August 8, 2022

Carter G. Woodson was tired of our students being miseducated. They were taught Black history as though it was secondary to European history – if they were taught it at all! 

But he knew better and decided to do something about it. Something powerful.

He wanted students to learn the truth about our history and deepen the study of Black American history. On February 7, 1926, Woodson started “Negro History Week,” duing a pivotal time when racial pride was swelling.

Negro History Week took off!

Black history clubs sprang up, and teachers incorporated Black history into their curriculums. As white supremacy does when it’s being exposed, publishing houses that once ignored us rushed to put out books to profit off our Blackness. (Many companies still do this every February.)  

But this WASN’T what Woodson had initially imagined.

He intended for Negro History Week to act as a catalyst for change, an opportunity for re-education, and the decolonization of our minds. Believing our history was too important to be celebrated during a limited time, he wanted it to be uplifted daily – Black History YEAR!

Like Woodson, we know that educating ourselves and our communities about Black history is a year-round study and celebration. We can never place a limit on learning who we are – because knowing our past is the only way we’ll be able to determine our futures!

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: