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Wednesday,
February 25, 2004 |
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What's
your B.H.I.Q.?
(Black
history intelligence quotient)
Black
History Month began with historian Carter G. Woodson,
who early in the last century came up with the idea for
a “Negro History Week,” which he envisioned
as a celebration of black history and achievement, as
well as a time for education.
In 1926, with the support of the Association for the Study
of Negro Life and History, the first “Negro History
Week” was held during the second week in February.
The timing was meant to honor the birthdays of abolitionist
Frederick Douglass and President Lincoln. Over the years,
the event grew in popularity, and in the early 1970s,
the association (which later changed its name, replacing
the word “Negro” with “Afro-American”)
expanded the celebration and renamed it “Black History
Month.” |
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Illustrations
by Ron Coddington/krt
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Did
you know ...
Black
History Month was created from Negro History Week, which
was launched by Carter Woodson in 1926. Woodson, who was
born to former slaves, began his high school education
at age 20. He noticed his history books lacked any recognition
of black Americans’ accomplishments and focused on
their inferior jobs. Woodson founded the Association for
the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 in order to
bring attention to blacks’ accomplishments. |
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