So Why Is Black History Month Celebrated in February?

There’s a running joke in the Black community that of course, Black History Month occurs in the shortest month of the year—emphasis on shortest. Even Chris Rock made a joke about it in an Essence video back in 2015, saying, “Black History Month is in the shortest month of the year, and the coldest—just in case we want to have a parade.” Despite the countless quips many African Americans make about the brief month, it may surprise many that month was chosen by the infamous Black author and historian Carter G. Woodson.

In 1925, the Harvard graduate who is also known as the “Father of Black History,” wanted to increase awareness to the numerous contributions and sacrifices that African Americans have made for their compatriots. Woodson’s organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, formed and announced Negro History Week. The occasion was first celebrated a year later in February of 1926. The week became a quick success, as Woodson’s association supplied study materials, like teaching lessons, plays, images, and posters with the critical dates and people in the Black community.

Prior to his death in 1950, Woodson believed that Negro History Week should expand far beyond a one-week event. He pushed for schools to utilize Negro History Week to display what students should learn all throughout the year. Likewise, Woodson created a Black studies extension program that allowed African Americans to learn about their past every day.

As per the official African American History Month website, the weekly celebration was extended into Black History Month in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford who encouraged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

So, what exactly was the reasoning behind Woodson choosing a week in February to observe the achievements of African Americans in American history? The answer is actually simpler than one might think, and it involves two influential men’s birthdays—Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Douglass, who escaped enslavement and became an American abolitionist, celebrated his birthday on February 14th despite not knowing his real date of birth. On the flip side of this, President Lincoln was born on February 12th and abolished slavery in 1863 by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Now you know that even though Black History Month falls on the coldest and shortest month of the year, for once, it actually doesn’t tie back to racism.