Overview

Black History Month is an annual month-long celebration and commemoration of notable people and events in the history of the African diaspora, including community leaders and activists who contributed to the abolition of slavery and advancement of black civil rights in North America and Europe. It is observed during the month of February in the United States and Canada, and during October in the United Kingdom.

Background

In 1926, African American historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History designated the second week of February as the "Negro History Week" as an educational initiative to raise the public awareness of African American history in public schools across the United States. The week was initially selected due to coinciding with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist movement leader Frederick Douglass. In February 1969, the leaders of the Black United Students^[8] at Kent State University proposed the expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month, which saw its first observance at the university one year later. By 1976, Black History Month was officially recognized by the United States government under the administration of President Gerald Ford^[9], who urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history." Over the next two decades, the United Kingdom observed its first annual Black History Month in October 1987, followed by Canda's official recognition of the month-long commemoration in 1995.

Developments

Online Tributes

In February 2009, the United States Library of Congress created an official website in the name of the African American History Month,^[1] which serves as an educational resource hub. In February 2010, the /r/BlackHistory subreddit was launched on Reddit. In February 2012, #BlackHistoryMonth and #BHM emerged as the unofficial hashtags for discussions about African American history and civil rights movement on Twitter. In February 2016, the New York Times launched an interactive photo essay project titled "Unpublished Black History," which highlighted a compilation of never-seen-before photographs that had been collecting dust in the archives, while PBS launched the #MyBlackHistory^[2] hashtag campaign in honor of the Black History Month.

Controversies

Soul Food Menus

In early 2010, a cellphone photograph of an NBC commissary menu honoring Black History Month with a selection of soul food items, including fried chicken and collard greens, was widely circulated online after it was tweeted by drummer Questlove (shown below).^[4]

In February 2014, the Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, Indiana apologized for serving soul food items in celebration of Black History Month (shown below, left). In February 2015, a Black History Month-themed menu at Ohio's Wright State University was widely criticized online, leading University President David Hopkins to publicly apologize for the display (shown below, right) .

White History Month

Meanwhile, the celebration of Black History Month in February has prompted several controversial proposals for the designation of a "White History Month" in honoring the heritage of white people, as evidently documented by the single topic blog When Is White History Month^[6] since as early as in 2012. Furthermore, in March 2015, a deli in Flemington, New Jersey became embroiled in a racial controversy^[7] after its owner displayed a "White History Month" sign on the storefront, which ultimately ended up in the closure of the business (shown below).

According to Google Trends, search queries for "white history month" have seen a recurring spike during the observance of Black History Month in February for at least a decade since 2005 (shown below).

#PenceBlackHistory

On February 1st, 2017, United States Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a message^[15] commemorating National Freedom Day, the day when President Abraham Lincoln signed the historic congressional resolution that effectively abolished slavery in America under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Consitution.

Pence's tribute to the legacy of President Lincoln was immediately met with criticism and ridicule on Twitter and elsewhere on the social media, where many users scolded the vice president for failing to honor the contributions of the African American community in observance of the Black History Month. In the following days, a flood of satirical tweets praising white politicians and celebrities for advancing the rights of African Americans surfaced under the hashtag #PenceBlackHistory.^[16]

Criticisms

Morgan Freeman's Comments

In December 2015, actor Morgan Freeman called Black History Month "ridiculous" during an interview on the CBS news show 60 Minutes with host Mike Wallace (shown below).

2016 Academy Award Ceremony

On January 20th, 2016, actress Stacey Dash criticized proposed boycotts of the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony and called for an end to BET Awards and Black History Month (shown below). Dash was widely criticized for the remarks, with many arguing she failed to recognize the importance of black awards ceremonies and Black History Month celebrations.

During the Academy Awards ceremony on February 28th, host Chris Rock introduced Dash as the director of the Oscar's new "Minority Outreach Program." After walking onstage, Dash proclaimed "Happy Black History Month."

Search Interest

External References