Black History Month
Black History Month
Learn About the Contributions of African Americans in the Southern Tier
Photo / africanamericancenterforculturaldevelopment.org/olean
Carter G. Woodson is a name which has long been associated with the concept of Black History month. Woodson, the second African American to graduate from Harvard, lobbied extensively to make Black History month a nationwide institution. In 1926, he succeeded when the study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February as Negro History Month to coincide with Abraham Lincoln’s February 12th birthday and Frederick Douglass’s February 14th birthday.
In modern times, after a period of slow acceptance and a name change, Black History Month has received official recognition from governments in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. to remember important people and events in the history of the African movement. Black educators and Black United Students at Kent State University proposed Black History Month in February 1969, with the first modern celebration taking place at Kent State a year later, from January 2-February 28, 1970. Within six years, it had moved across the country and became officially recognized when President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month in 1976 during the U.S. Bicentennial Celebration. He urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history”.
Each year, the ASALH (Study of African American Life and History) chooses a different theme for Black History Month. This year, the theme is "Black Resistance." According to NPR.org, "African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms, and police killings since our arrival upon these shores," the ASALH says of this year’s theme. "These efforts have been to advocate for a dignified self-determined life in a just democratic society in the United States and beyond the United States’ political jurisdiction." The theme was chosen, in part, because of the current politically charged environment around race.
Here are some interesting Black History facts:
According to Smithsonian Magazine, one in four cowboys in the great wild west was Black.
Long before Barack Obama became the first Black president of the United States, George Edwin Taylor ran for president as a member of the National Negro Liberty Party in 1904.
You think you know the history of rock ‘n’ roll? Have you ever heard of Sister Rosetta Tharpe? “Listen to the wonderful late Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing her world-famous gospel song ‘This Train’ from the year 1964. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer and guitarist. She attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar that was extremely important to the origins of rock and roll.” Enjoy more of Sister Rosetta Tharpe by searching her name on YouTube. Oh, yes, and check out the members of the audience. Greats like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash have credited her influence on their music.
Speaking of musical greats, Quincy Jones hits the history books as the most nominated artist in Grammy history. Go to rd.com for more facts about black history.
To learn about the history and contributions of African Americans in the Southern Tier, please consider attending the African American Cultural Center’s program, “A Conversation with Olean Historians” on Monday, February 27 at 6:00pm at The Cutco Theater, Cattaraugus Campus of JCC. You will hear presentations by Della Moore, Director of The African American Center for Cultural Development, David Deckman, Olean Historian, and Steve Teachman, President of the Olean Historical Society, Director of Olean Point Museum, and Director of the Gov. Frank Higgins Carriage House Museum. Arrive by 5:00pm to enjoy a 45-minute tour of the African American Center. Refreshments will be served in the lobby after the program. The event is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. The African American Cultural Center is located at 2214 North Barry Street, Olean, NY 14760. Questions can be directed to 215-704 6608 or aaccdofolean@gmail.com.