{"id":7318,"date":"2025-02-04T11:30:45","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T18:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ltsarizona.org\/phoenix-charter-school\/?p=7318"},"modified":"2025-02-04T11:30:45","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T18:30:45","slug":"celebrate-the-importance-of-black-history-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ltsarizona.org\/phoenix-charter-school\/celebrate-the-importance-of-black-history-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate the Importance of Black History This Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

February is a month filled with events; Groundhog Day, Superbowl Sunday, Valentine\u2019s Day, Presidents Day. Most importantly, though, is that the entire month of February has been designated as Black History Month, which recognizes the many, often overlooked, contributions African Americans have made to America\u2019s history. The evolution of Black History Month has an interesting history of its own, and dates back to the end of the Civil War.<\/span>
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\nThe <\/span>Emancipation Proclamation<\/span><\/a> went into effect on January 1, 1863, which ended slavery, and was made law in the <\/span>13th Amendment<\/span><\/a> to the Constitution in 1865. And yet, surprisingly,, it wasn\u2019t until the 1960s \u2014 just over 60 years ago, and 100 years after the <\/span>14th Amendment<\/span><\/a> promised that the government would enforce \u201cequal protection of the laws\u201d \u2014 that African Americans were finally guaranteed the rights that the Constitution says every citizen should enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black History Month got its start as Black History Week in 1915, on the 50th anniversary of the 13th Amendment. That\u2019s when Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded what is today the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. In 1926, the group instituted Negro History Week, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of <\/span>Frederick Douglass<\/span><\/a>, on February 14, and <\/span>Abraham Lincoln<\/span><\/a>, on February 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, cities across America began recognizing Black History Week, which evolved into Black History Month on college campuses, thanks to the increasing attention the civil rights movement was attracting in the 1950s and 60s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until the <\/span>Civil Rights Act<\/span><\/a> was passed in 1964, African Americans could be denied entry to theaters, restaurants, hotels, swimming pools, libraries and public schools, and could be denied a job based on race. Before the <\/span>Voting Rights Act<\/span><\/a> of 1965 became law, African Americans could encounter state and local barriers, designed to deny them their right to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with this progress, textbooks and classrooms in the 1960s and \u201970s mainly provided the history of Caucasian Americans when teaching American history. Despite being a crucial component in the American story, the lives of many important African Americans were hardly ever mentioned in history classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, in 1976, President Gerald Ford took the occasion of America\u2019s bicentennial year to officially recognize Black History Month, asking Americans to, \u201cseize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are just a few of many important African Americans and their accomplishments:<\/span><\/p>\n