Black History Month Centenary

This February marks the 100th anniversary of celebrating trailblazers, innovations, and the important historical activism of Black individuals. Black History Month started in 1976 and was formally known as “Black History Week,” created by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. It was held between Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ birthdays, both who were vitally important to fighting oppression. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation helped to free enslaved individuals from confederate states. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist, wrote an important autobiography that detailed the life of an abolitionist. 

In 1970, the students and educators of Kent State University celebrated the first ever Black History month. Six years later, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month as a national holiday, urging Americans to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments of Black Americans and remember the horrors of this time period. 

A century  later, CSArts students celebrated Black History Month’s 100th with a Mardi Gras Second Line parade, organized by our school’s Black Student Union (BSU).