Black History Month Celebration

Black History Month is the annual celebration recognizing the achievements of people of African descent and their contributions to U.S. society and history.

Black History Month originated in 1926, when Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) sponsored a "Negro History Week" coinciding with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

The first nationally recognized Black History Month was announced in 1976 by President Gerald Ford and has been celebrated not only domestically but also internationally, in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.