February has officially come and gone, and with it went the sliver of the year that the U.S. dedicates to remembering the history of its Black populations.
Originating from Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week in 1926, Black History Month - also known as National African American History Month - has become a time to to remember the achievements, trials, and tribulations of Black Americans since 1976. Many of these occasions are less celebrated in mainstream discussions and yet they've inevitably had a huge impact on the U.S. as we know it today.
There are so many achievements and fun facts to highlight. Whether as historical figures in the pursuit of human rights, inventors and scientists, literary and media geniuses, or in contemporary music and sport, the contributions of Black Americans are countless.
A few fun facts worth highlighting include:
As I get older, I seem to find less focus on this important part of American, of World, history. There's no mandate for my university to hold any sort of commemoration, or even send an email documenting the month, which is interesting especially given Woodson's own ties to Harvard. The dialogue of #BlackLivesMatter keeps getting conflated with #AllLivesMatter, which is true but detracts attention away from a part of the population that continues to face unchallenged issues of injustice. Calls for a White History Month even seem to rise to the surface...
To acknowledge Black History Month this year, I did a few things. I bought (and read) a book by a Black author, and a friend, called "The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood." I returned to my undergraduate research on structural racism, Critical Race Theory, and public health to explore disparate health access and outcomes by racial/ethnic group. And, I sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Black National Anthem, at a small celebration organized by two students at my school this year.
Note: In case you're wondering, Black History Month isn't the only heritage month recognized in the U.S. Irish-American, Jewish American, Hispanic, Native American, Puerto Rican, and Gay and Lesbian Pride Months also exist.
Check out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/black-inventions_n_4877195.html
http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/23/100-black-inventions-over-the-last-100-years-you-may-not-know-part-1/
http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/tp/famousafricanamericans.htm
Originating from Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week in 1926, Black History Month - also known as National African American History Month - has become a time to to remember the achievements, trials, and tribulations of Black Americans since 1976. Many of these occasions are less celebrated in mainstream discussions and yet they've inevitably had a huge impact on the U.S. as we know it today.
There are so many achievements and fun facts to highlight. Whether as historical figures in the pursuit of human rights, inventors and scientists, literary and media geniuses, or in contemporary music and sport, the contributions of Black Americans are countless.
A few fun facts worth highlighting include:
- February was selected for Black History Month because of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.
- Invention of the traffic light (Garret A. Morgan in 1923, before selling it to General Electric)
- Invention of the ice scream scoop (Alfred A. Cralle)
- Creating "Potato Chips, " formally known as "Saratoga Chips" (George "Speck" Crum)
- Perfecting the light bulb (Lewis Latimer, assistant to Alexandar Graham Bell - inventor of the telephone - patented the "incandescent electric lightbulb with carbon filament")
As I get older, I seem to find less focus on this important part of American, of World, history. There's no mandate for my university to hold any sort of commemoration, or even send an email documenting the month, which is interesting especially given Woodson's own ties to Harvard. The dialogue of #BlackLivesMatter keeps getting conflated with #AllLivesMatter, which is true but detracts attention away from a part of the population that continues to face unchallenged issues of injustice. Calls for a White History Month even seem to rise to the surface...
To acknowledge Black History Month this year, I did a few things. I bought (and read) a book by a Black author, and a friend, called "The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood." I returned to my undergraduate research on structural racism, Critical Race Theory, and public health to explore disparate health access and outcomes by racial/ethnic group. And, I sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Black National Anthem, at a small celebration organized by two students at my school this year.
Note: In case you're wondering, Black History Month isn't the only heritage month recognized in the U.S. Irish-American, Jewish American, Hispanic, Native American, Puerto Rican, and Gay and Lesbian Pride Months also exist.
Check out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/black-inventions_n_4877195.html
http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/23/100-black-inventions-over-the-last-100-years-you-may-not-know-part-1/
http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/tp/famousafricanamericans.htm
