Every February, Black History Month honors African Americans and their contributions to American history. Carter G. Woodson believed that black people should be proud of their heritage and that other Americans should be aware of their accomplishments. As a result, Carter and several other African Americans established what is now known as Black History Month.
Many modern Black millennials are encouraged to envision the future by this month-long festival. About a century ago, Carter G. Woodson was motivated by a number of causes that are now more potent than ever.
In response to the public's lack of knowledge of black people's achievements, Carter G. Woodson founded the Study of Black Life and History in 1915, which is now known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History® (ASALH).
The month of February was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and social reformer Frederick Douglas, both of whom played important roles in helping to end slavery in the United States.
In 1976, 50 years after the initial celebration, President Gerald Ford decided to extend the week-long celebration to a month in order to more thoroughly "honor the too-often forgotten accomplishments of African Americans in every field of effort throughout our history." Since that time, February has been designated as Black History Month, and every president of the United States, whether a Democrat or a Republican, has signed proclamations endorsing the Association's yearly theme.
This year's Black History Month theme is "Black Resistance." This year's theme is designed to raise awareness about how African Americans have dealt with racial inequity. "Black Resistance" can be seen from slave rebellions during the Civil War to current events.
Resistance by Black people has resulted in victories, successes, and advancement over the years, as shown by the abolition of slavery in the South, the end of Jim and Jane Crow, political representation, educational institution desegregation, the Civil Rights Act, increased and varied representation of Black experiences in media, and the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. The historical significance of black resistance movements in America cannot be overstated, as they served as a model for every subsequent social movement in the country.
All previous themes are available on the website of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History® (ASALH).
Black trailblazers and activists fought every day for equal rights for all and greater diversity in our country and the legal profession long before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement.
Carter G. Woodson was born in New Canton, Virginia, on December 19, 1875. Carter was born as the son of enslaved people and understood the importance of education. After graduating from Berea College in Kentucky, he began working for the US government in the Philippines. He returned to the United States and finished his studies at the University of Chicago, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees, and then at Harvard University, where he received his doctorate in 1912.
Carter was later a founding member of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which was renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Throughout his career, Carter wrote numerous books, the most well-known of which was The Mis-Education of the Negro. After becoming extremely popular, this book became a required read at a number of schools and institutions.
Carter later founded African Heritage Week in February 1926. This was a week for people to come together and celebrate the many accomplishments and rich heritage of African Americans. Carter chose February as the month to mark the occasion due to the births of Frederick Douglas and President Abraham Lincoln, two of the most well-known people who spent the majority of their lives working to end slavery across the country.
Carter G. Woodson passed away in early April of 1950. Despite his death, Carter's memory and work live on every February during what is now known as Black History Month. Through his consistent efforts and opposition, he was able to achieve his goal of bringing African American historical achievements to the forefront. He is widely regarded as the "Father of Black History" today.
Thurgood Marshall, born on July 2, 1908, rose to become one of history's most prominent African-American legal trailblazers. Thurgood graduated with honors from Lincoln University in 1930. Thurgood went on to attend Howard University after being denied admission to the Maryland School of Law due to his skin color. Thurgood graduated in 1933, finishing first in his class. After graduating, he established his own private law firm in Baltimore, and one of his early successes was Murray v. Pearson (1935), in which he sued the University of Maryland, the same university that had refused him years before, for violating the 14th Amendment by refusing an African American candidate admittance to its law school solely on the basis of skin color.
Marshall went on to become one of the nation's top attorneys in the 1940s and 1950s, winning 29 of the 32 Supreme Court cases he contested. Some of his most notable instances are listed here.
Marshall used the power of the courts to combat racism and prejudice, to demolish Jim Crow segregation, to alter the status quo, and to improve the lives of our country's most vulnerable citizens.
Jane Bolin was born in what is now the city of Poughkeepsie, New York in 1908. Bolin was a standout student who graduated from high school in her early twenties and enrolled at Wellesley College. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1928 and was acknowledged as one of the best students in her class despite racism. Bolin entered Yale Law School following Wellesley College and earned her degree there in 1931, making history as the first African-American woman to do so.
Bolin returned to her hometown after graduating from law school and began working for her family's firm. After a decade, she became New York City's first African-American woman to work as an assistant corporate counsel. During the World's Fair in 1931, Bolin was sworn in as the first African-American female judge in the United States by the Mayor. After more than 30 years as a judge, Bolin was urged to resign, formally retiring at the age of 70. She passed away in early 2007, at the age of 98.
Macon Bolling Allen was born in August of 1816. Unlike many Black Americans at the time, Macon Allen was born free in Indiana. Because he was born free, he was able to read and write on his own, and he later became a schoolteacher himself, allowing him to hone his skills even further. After nearly two decades in Indiana, Macon moved to Portland, Maine, in the early 1840s to study law and work as a clerk for General Samuel Fessenden. Later, in 1844, Macon passed the Maine bar exam and began practicing law as the country's first black licensed attorney.
Macon moved to Boston not long after, in 1845, and eventually passed the Massachusetts bar exam. Despite the fact that Macon was born free and could legally practice law, he faced a number of racial obstacles. Despite not being a U.S. citizen under the Constitution, Macon overcame these obstacles to become the country's first black civil court judge in 1848. Macon was able to pursue his ambition and consistently face the obstacles in a pre-Civil Rights period until his death in 1894.
Dorthey Height was born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, Virginia. Her family moved to Pennsylvania not long after she was born, where she began school and excelled in every way. Dorothy applied to Barnard College in 1929 but was denied admission due to her skin color; instead, Dorothy attended New York University and earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in psychology. Dorthy was quickly on her way to becoming a tenacious activist. Dorothy joined the Harlem Young Women's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1937 and met Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt during a visit to her facility. Dorothy quickly joined the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and became friends with Mary Mcleod Bethune. In 1957, Dorothy was elected president of the National Council of Negro Women. Dorothy worked on several campaigns and activities with Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis, and James Farmer, collectively known as the "big six" of the civil rights movement.
Cary's story transcends borders because she was a lawyer, journalist, and educator who dedicated her life to civil rights. When she was born in 1823, her parents were activists who helped direct escaped enslaved people through the Underground Railroad. Mary Ann later attended a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania as a child, then went on to teach in African American schools for 12 years. She and her family left for Canada after the Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. Her career path shifted from teaching to journalism after she left the United States. She was the first African American woman editor and publisher in North America and launched the first anti-slavery periodical in Canada. After the Civil War, Cary moved back to the country, specifically to Washington, D.C., where she attended Howard University and obtained her legal degree. She is well-known for her valiant work with the women's suffrage movement, despite the fact that nothing is known about her legal career. In fact, she spoke in favor of the right to vote before the House Judiciary Committee in 1874.
Charles Houston, dubbed "the man who destroyed Jim Crow," began his career as an English professor. He made the decision to pursue law school and devote his time to advocating for those who could not defend themselves after experiencing overt racism while serving in the US Infantry during World War I. Mr. Houston started attending Harvard Law School and went on to become the Harvard Law Review's first African-American editor. After receiving his Juris Doctorate, he was admitted to the Washington, D.C. bar in 1924. Later in his legal career, he was selected as the dean of Howard University School of Law, where he helped transform it into the premier training ground for civil rights activists interested in pursuing legal careers. Houston was engaged in almost every civil rights case that the Supreme Court heard between 1930 and 1950. By proving that integration would be less expensive than creating "separate but equal" schools, he was credited with creating the strategy that led to the end of public school segregation.
To ensure that an equal nation works harmoniously to reach new heights as a nation, our present trailblazers continue the work of past trailblazers.
From January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017, Barack Obama presided as the 44th president of the United States of America. He thereby became the country's first African American leader. Obama had to deal with the ongoing conflict in Iraq and the global economic crisis when he first took office. Obama did, however, enact these three laws during his first term:
Obama also supported legislation for financial reform, consumer protection, and a fair pay act for women.
Fred Grey, who was born on December 14th, 1930, in Montgomery, Alabama, started attending Alabama State University after graduating from high school with the intention of becoming a history teacher and preacher. A lecturer at the institution saw Fred's promise and pushed him to go to law school. Later, Fred made the decision to enroll in Cleveland's Western Reserve University Law School, now known as Case Western Reserve University, for legal studies.
He was a prominent player in the Montgomery bus boycott, which ended segregation on public transportation, in addition to his campaign for Tuskegee syphilis patients. He was later referred to as "the brilliant young Negro who later became the chief counsel for the protest movement" by Martin Luther King Jr. On July 7, 2022, Fred Gray and many others were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
On January 1st, 1942, Dennis Archer was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Ross Beatty High School in 1959. After graduating from Ross Beatty High School, Dennis enrolled at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He later transferred to Western Michigan University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. Dennis completed his schooling at the Detroit College of Law after transferring from the University of Michigan, where he had previously studied.
Dennis joined Hall, Stone, Archer, and Glen as a founding partner in 1971. In 1983, he was chosen to lead the National Bar Association, and the following year, the Michigan Bar Association. Over his career, Dennis won various honors, such as Newsmaker of the Year in 1998 and Public Official of the Year in 2000. In 2001, Dennis created the Dennis W. Archer Scholarship Fund.
Greensboro, South Carolina, was the place of Loretta's birth on May 21, 1959. She received her A.B. from Harvard College in 1981 before continuing on to Harvard Law School, where she received her J.D. in 1984. In 1990, Lorretta started working for the New York office of the US Attorney. She prosecuted numerous cases involving public corruption, drug trafficking, and civil rights while working at the US Attorney's Office. Fast-forward to 1999, when she was selected as the United States Attorney by then-President Bill Clinton, a position she maintained until 2001. She had worked for the United States Attorney's Office in New York for nine years when, in 2010, then-President Barack Obama requested that she return. Lynch's nomination as attorney general was announced by President Barack Obama in 2014, and she was sworn in as the 83rd attorney general of the United States later that year.
