When you hear “Black History Month” your mind instantly thinks of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but one name you probably haven’t heard of is Dr. Carter G. Woodson. This is the man that started the celebration of African American culture.

   Woodson was the second black man to graduate from Harvard. Being the son of former slaves, he knew how important it was to preserve ones heritage. In 1920 he convinced the Omega Psi Phi to create the Negro Literature and History Week. From here the name was changed to Negro History Week in 1926.

   You may be wondering why February is the time he chose to celebrate black history. The reason is because he set it between two extremely important people in African American history: Abraham Lincoln (February 12^th) because he signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves and Frederick Douglass (February 14^th) who was a famous abolitionist and civil rights leader.

   1950 saw the year of Woodson’s death, but his legacy still lives on. This observance was extremely important during 50’s and 60’s when the Civil Rights Movement was occurring. Then, the 1970’s saw the change of the week’s name to Black History week. It was then lengthened to a month celebration in 1976. This is how we observe the month today, celebrating black history and culture during February.

   Knowing your past is how to have a future. You need to know what has happened to make sure bad things aren’t repeated and the good things are. Then next time you think of Black History, try not to think of the obvious people, but dig a little deeper. There are many mistakes we have made and so much we can learn about today. Many great African American people have lived throughout history who don’t receive the recognition that they deserve. These are the people who have pushed to break down the remaining barriers on racism and join together as one, because who we are is not what we look like, but how we act.