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• Observed throughout the month of February, Black History Month is dedicated to the observance of the prominent individuals and events throughout the history of the African Diaspora. The tradition of Black History Month began in the United States with the intention of supplementing academic curricula which lacked significant coverage of African-American History.

• Fast Facts

  1. Observed annually throughout the month of February in Canada and the United States
  2. The United Kingdom observes Black History Month in October
  3. Initially founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as Negro History WeekHistory.com: Black History Facts
  4. Expanded to Black History Month in 1976Bio.com: Black History Month Origins
  5. On February 12, 2009, the NAACP will celebrate its 100th anniversaryHistory.com: Black History Facts
  6. In 2009, the United States swore in the first man of African descent to the office of the president
  7. Celebrity Morgan Freeman believes that celebrating Black History Month further promotes racismYouTube Video: Morgan Freeman on Black History Mont(Time: :55)
  8. Dr. Carter G. Woodson was the second black man to receive a degree from Harvard UniversityBio.com: Black History Month Origins
  9. The Black Power Movement of the 1970s led the creation of ASNLH, or the Association for the Study of African American Life and HistoryBio.com: Black History Month Origins

• History

  Although commonly criticized in the U.S. for taking place in the shortest month of the year, the original motivation for choosing February as Black History Month came directly from founder Dr. Carter G. Wilson. Wilson chose February as the host month because it was the birth month of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two prominent figures in African-American history.History.com: Black History Facts

• Opposition to Black History Month

  While many organizations believe that it is essential to integrate multicultural studies into American classrooms, celebrity Morgan Freeman has expressed opposition to the celebration of Black History Month, stating that, "Black history is American History." When Mike Wallace asked Freeman how they could do away with racism, Freeman said, "Stop talking about it! I'm gonna stop calling you a white man, and I'm gonna ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace and you know me as Morgan Freeman."YouTube Video: Morgan Freeman on Black History Mont(Time: :55)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  NAACP | Coretta Scott King | Yolanda King | Martin Luther King Jr. | Jesse Jackson | Al Sharpton | Malcolm X | Thurgood Marshall | Martin Luther King Day | Martin Luther King III | Nat Turner | Frederick Douglass | Abraham Lincoln | Howard University | Affirmative Action | Southern University | Hampton University | Jackie Robinson | Muhammad Ali | Rosa Parks | Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Slavery

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