Honor, Observe, Celebrate
At Modern Path, we often speak to the burden of advocacy and education that falls on our marginalized communities.
Black History Month is no exception. In fact, it is one of the greatest examples of burdening the very community we are meant to be celebrating.
Instead of wondering why tradition reserves this celebration to one month of the year, people will ask their Black friends, family, and coworkers why we celebrate Black History Month. They will ask the Black community how to celebrate each month.
In honoring Black History month, we believe it is important to begin with its origins in American History.
Doctor Carter Woodson was an American historian known as the “Father of Black History”. He was the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). In an effort to extended the study of Black History, he initiated a celebration on February 7, 1926, called Negro History Week. Dr. Woodson built this week of observance around the existing traditions of celebrating the birthdays of historical figures, such as Frederick Douglass.
Though the foundation of this week began with a remembrance of specific figures, Dr. Woodson believed that history was made by the people as a whole. He aimed to redirect the focus on the countless people in the Black community that were instrumental in the advancement of human civilization.
Dr. Woodson and the ASALH were met with an overwhelmingly positive response and began to provide study materials such as pictures, lessons, plays, and posters. Inspired by the materials, high school students began to form History Clubs. The clubs fueled the creation of countrywide branches of the ASALH, and the branches reached cities from coast to coast.
Then the week-long event started to turn into a month of festivities through cultural activist, Fredrick H. Hammaurabi. Hammaurabi founded the cultural center, House of Knowledge, which was created to spread knowledge and awareness of African American culture.
On the fiftieth anniversary of Negro History Week, the ASALH officially changed the celebration from a week to a month and birthed its new name, Black History Month.
Each year the ASALH reveals a theme for Black History Month. The theme helps create focus for the public and highlights important developments in the Black community.
You can find this year's theme, The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity, along with a list of all the previous years' themes on the ASALH website.
This year the ASALH is hosting its first-ever month-long virtual festival, with events, speakers, and awards all in observance and celebration of the resilience of the Black Family.
Here are some other ways you can honor Black History Month:
Unlearn the whitewashed version of American History and acknowledge the role that white supremacy has played in the eradication of Black History.
Educate yourself - learn on your own. Use google, watch a documentary, read an article.
Support Black-Owned Businesses. Visit supportblackowned.com, webuyblack.com, and officialblackwallstreet.com.
Support Causes and Patreon Accounts.
Dr. Woodson’s vision started with a week-long celebration of Black History, and it has grown into a month of celebration, honor, and observance.
Transform this month of celebration into an everyday practice.
Learn, remember, and celebrate the Black Experience in America.
Resources:
https://blacklivesmatter.com/our-movement-is-so-much-more/
https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/carter-woodson-black-history-month/
https://depaul.digication.com/cgct_bronzeville_community_tour/House_of_Knowledge