Chosen Generation Chronicle
Page 2
Black History Month - Why Celebrate It
40 years after the Civil War, in the early 1900s, Blacks were very much enjoying their freedoms given
to them by the Emancipation Proclamation while their previous oppressors were devising ways to
bring back slavery “legally.” Also during this time you had the passing of the 2nd Morrill Act (1890)
which established the majority of Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), the Niagara
Movement, which was the forerunner to the NAACP, but also development of the “Black Intellect”
which has been characterized through the debates between Booker T. Washington & Dr. W.E.B.
Dubois. Two gentleman have never been in more contrast while at the same time complimentary of
each other; Washington advocated learning a trade & integrating themselves into society while DuBois
advocated the “Talented Tenth” Theory which advocated political power, civil rights, and the higher
education of Negro youth.
Dr. W.E.B Dubois is well-known as Harvard’s 1st Black PhD in 1895, however it’s their 2nd Black PhD
recipient that is more celebrated. That man was Dr. Carter G. Woodson who felt that our HIS-story
needed to be taught to the masses as Black History has a significant impact, if not the very
cornerstone, of American History. He tirelessly devoted his life to researching, discovering, &
spreading it to the masses of the impact that Blacks have on not just American Culture, but
GLOBALLY as Canada & United Kingdom also have Black History Month celebrations.
Our History as a people is history that needs to be
told, that needs to be learned and that needs to
be recorded. If we don’t do it, it will never be
done correctly. If we don’t do it, it won’t be
preserved. If we don’t do it our children will
never know their real value and worth.
-Dr. Edward Lee
WHY FEBRUARY?
For years, African Americans have jokingly questioned the fact that Black History Month takes place
in the shortest month of the year. The decision to celebrate African-American history in February
was not an attempt to shortchange blacks but arrived at because one week in that month
encompasses the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln, which fell on
the 14th and the 12th, respectively. Many regarded the self-taught Douglass as a leading abolitionist,
while Lincoln, of course, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That document allowed enslaved
blacks to live as free men and women.
The black community had long celebrated the birthdays of Douglass and Lincoln. “Well aware of the
pre-existing celebrations, Woodson built Negro History Week around traditional days of