Prince William Board of County Supervisors Recognize Black History Month

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors recently proclaimed February as Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, to celebrate the history, heritage, contributions, and accomplishments of African Americans.

Black History Month’s origins go back to 1926 when Carter G. Woodson, the Association for the Study of Negro History and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, set the second week in February as Black History Week to coincide with President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12 and abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ birthday of Feb. 14.

Woodson, noted editor, author, historian, and publisher, believed that all school children in the country should learn the history of black Americans to preserve the “intellectual and physical survival of the race.”

In 1969, Black United Students and black educators at Kent State University in Ohio advocated for Black History Month. In 1970, the first Black History Month was celebrated at the university.

Today, communities across the nation recognize Black History Month by celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader of the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, Mae Jemison the first African American astronaut to fly into space and Barack Obama, the country’s first African American president.

The board’s proclamation urged county residents to recognize Black History Month by celebrating the contributions African Americans have made to the country.