The oft asked question by many African Americans is, “why do blacks get the shortest month of the year to celebrate their heritage?” Well there is no conspiracy here. Black History Month was founded by historian and “Father of Negro History,” Dr. Carter G Woodson in 1926 as "Negro History Week". Woodson initially chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans whom he felt greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass.
Black History Week provided an opportunity for lectures, performances and teach-ins on black history and culture. In the 1970’s The Association of Negro Life and History (later Association for the Study of Afro American Life and History) independently expanded the week celebration and renamed it Black History Month.
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