Ways To Celebrate ‘Black History Month’ 2023
February is Black History Month, a federally recognized celebration of the contributions African Americans have made to this country and a time to reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice. Black History Month has become one of the most celebrated cultural heritage months on the calendar, said LaGarrett J. King, an associate professor of social studies education at the University of Missouri.
We've listed some history about this month, as well as some ways to celebrate!
**** The story of Black History Month ****
Born as a sharecropper in 1875, Carter G. Woodson went on to become a teacher and the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. He founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1915 and eventually became known as the "father of Black history."
On Feb. 7, 1926, Woodson announced the creation of "Negro History Week" to encourage and expand the teaching of Black history in schools. He selected February because the month marks the birthday of the two most famous abolitionists of the time -- Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Feb. 1 is also National Freedom Day, a celebration of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the US.
By the 1940s, schools in Woodson's home state of West Virginia had begun expanding the celebration to a month, and by the 1960s, demands for proper Black history education spread across the country. Kent State's Black United Students proposed the idea of a Black History month in 1969 and celebrated the first event in February 1970. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976 during the US bicentennial.
—> Here are some ways you can celebrate all month long:
** Visit a Black or African American history museum
** Learn about Black music history by listening online
** Support Black-owned businesses and restaurants
** Donate to Black organizations and charities
** Attend local Black History Month events
** Watch Black history documentaries and movies
** Find Black authors and stories for yourself and your children
** Dive deeper into Black history with online resources
** Organize a book club
Reading nonfiction or fiction books by Black authors can be a poignant and meaningful way to recognize Black History Month. Bonus points if you bring in a facilitator to guide and make the most of your discussions. There are so, so many excellent books by Black authors. For starters, The Stacks makes lists of their favorite books and they always recommend a great variety of Black authors.
---> Here’s a quick list of recent hits from the Bonusly team:
--- Nonfiction ---
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, an anthology edited by Jesmyn Ward
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
--- Fiction ---
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
** Volunteer
Volunteering with local nonprofits and charities is an excellent way to help the community, bond with your team members, and even inspire engagement and motivation in the workplace!
Lending your support as an organization is uniquely powerful because you can bring a lot of helping hands to a project, but you can also form corporate partnerships and create lasting relationships by establishing internships, apprenticeships, or recruiting programs.
You know your own community better than we do, but Black Girls CODE, National Society of Black Engineers, and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance are good places to start if you’re looking for national Black-led organizations!
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