We’ve just completed Black History Month. Originally created in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson as a week to celebrate black history, it became the nationally observed Black History Month in 1976.
Carter G. Woodson saw a problem in schools around the country. He outlined this in his seminal work, The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933). He focused on how black students were not being taught about their history and the real history of the United States. Equally important, is the need to educate white students about black history, histories of people of color, and racism in the United States—not just in the past, but today. Black history is not something that should be celebrated for only one month of the year. It should be on our minds and expressed through our actions throughout the year. The study of black history teaches us the importance of standing up for justice, fighting against systems of oppression, working to dismantle racism, and creating a better, more tolerant world every single day.
As a brand communications firm, MOVE Communications encourages all of us to take the time to learn more about this important history—and to share it with others.
To learn more about Black History Month, and some remarkable black Americans, please visit these websites:
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/10-black-history-little-known-facts/
https://www.thoughtco.com/origins-of-black-history-month-p2-45346
Recommended Reading List:
- Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
- Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. Or any books by James Baldwin.
- Butler, Octavia E. Kindred.
- King Jr., Martin Luther. Speeches.
- Morrison, Toni. Beloved.
- Woodson, Carter G. The Mis-Education of the Negro. 1933.
- X, Malcolm and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
