Starting with President Gerald R. Ford in 1976, every U.S. president has officially recognized this monthlong February celebration.
Black history month began as “Negro History Week” in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a prominent African-American historian. Woodson started the celebration to preserve the history and contributions of African-Americans and to counteract Jim Crow and the social institutions that supported those laws, explained Darius Spearman, City College Black Studies Professor.
Negro History week was celebrated in the month of February in honor of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.
City College will host a Black History Month Celebration in Gorton Quad, Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact the World Cultures Program at 619-388-3552 for more information.
