Black+History+Month

=**Black History Month**=
 * _ 2015**

 =100 Years of Black History- ABC CLIO =



The theme for [|Black History Month]  2015 is "A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture." This is in recognition of the 100th anniversary of an organization that pioneered the study of African American culture—what would come to be known as the [|Association for the Study of African American Life and History]  (ASALH). Founded by historian Dr. [|Carter Godwin Woodson]  in 1915 (as the Association for the Study of [|Negro]  Life and History), the ASALH's mission was to conduct historical research; publish books on African American life and history; promote its work through black colleges, fraternal organizations, public schools, and churches; and collect and preserve historical documents. In 1926, the organization established Negro History Week in February to honor the birthdays of both [|Frederick Douglass]  and [|Abraham Lincoln] . The organization would change its name to the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in 1972 and later, to the name it has today. In 1976, Negro History Week became Black History Month, observed each February  <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> During the last 100 years, African Americans have made contributions not only to their own culture but to American society as a whole. Five leading experts of African American history and culture have been asked to weigh in on who they think is the most significant African American of the past century. Their choices reflect change makers who didn't simply make history, but through their courage, efforts, intellect, and talents, completely transformed the way the world understood the black community. These scholars' commentaries, in this feature's ** Background **, honor individuals who demonstrated excellence in literature, sports, politics, and music over the past century.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Any discussion of African American change makers must start in 1920s [|Harlem]. There, artists, musicians, and writers created a newfound appreciation for black contributions to [|jazz], literature, and the fine arts. [|Langston Hughes], for example, struck a chord with his writings highlighting the beauty of black life. In sports, [|boxing] legend [|Jack Johnson] had fought his way into the record books as the world's first black heavyweight champion. In the arena of politics, [|Thurgood Marshall] blazed trails as the U.S. Supreme Court's first black justice, and [|Ralph Bunche] made a difference as the first person of color to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. African Americans have also made a mark in contemporary pop culture. [|Public Enemy] founder [|Chuck D], in particular, redefined [|rap] as music with a political and social message, becoming an ambassador for the genre and inspiring a whole generation of youth.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"Liberation Sans",FreeSans,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">ABC-CLIO

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"Liberation Sans",FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">MLA Citation
<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> "100 Years of Black History: Overview." // The American Mosaic: The African American Experience //. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2015

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // We asked some of ABC-CLIO’s recent authors, leading scholars whose contributions have been influential in the field of black studies, to weigh in on African Americans they consider to be change makers in sports, politics, literature, and music in the last century. Here is what they had to say: //

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> ** Sports: Jack Johnson **

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Why was [|Jack Johnson] one of the greatest change makers in sports? Johnson was not only the first black heavyweight- [|boxing] champion of the world in the early part of the 20th century, but he was also a symbol of the “ [|New Negro] .” He was a free man and he was determined to live a free life. Johnson’s unwillingness to be treated as a second-class citizen served as an inspiration to disadvantaged people of color in the United States and beyond. Every fist that he landed on his white opponents symbolized a crushing blow to the elaborate web of ideas and beliefs responsible for oppressing people of color everywhere. Efforts to ban Johnson’s interracial fight films and his false conviction for violations of the Mann Act are evidence of the threat that high ranking U.S. officials thought Jack Johnson posed to the racial order of the day. Even after losing the heavyweight championship to Jess Willard in 1915, he continued to have a lasting impact on boxing and on race relations in the United States and throughout the globe. Johnson forever changed the way black athletes and others viewed themselves. For some that meant not challenging the status quo, such as was the case for [|Joe Louis]. For others such as [|Muhammad Ali], [|Jim Brown] , [|Bill Russell] , and [|Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] , it meant using their status to challenge, transform, and change the ways society viewed blacks and the ways blacks viewed themselves.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // —Lori Latrice Martin, PhD, is assistant professor of Africana studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Her forthcoming published works include ABC-CLIO's // White Sports/Black Sports: Racial Socialization and Athletic Destinations//. Martin holds a doctorate in sociology from University at Albany, State University of New York. //

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> ** Politics: Ralph Bunche **

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Why is [|Ralph Bunche] among the foremost African American change makers in politics? Bunche negotiated matters of life and death affecting hundreds of millions of persons from Africa and Asia to the Pacific Islands. Through his talents in international politics, he contributed to transforming the world. In 1950, after his work as United Nations mediator in Palestine, Bunche became the first African American to win a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in negotiating armistices between Arab states and Israel. The agreements ended hostilities following the May 1948 declaration of the state of Israel. Bunche chaired [|Howard University's] political science department, where he directed others on paths of progress toward "A Worldview of Race," as he titled it in a 1936 publication. An expert on Africa and director of the UN Trusteeship Division, he advanced the cause of worldwide decolonization, bringing to independence such African nations as Ghana (1957), Somalia (1960), Togo (1960), Cameroon (1960), Tanzania (1961), Rwanda (1962), and Burundi (1962). Beyond being "the man who brought peace to Palestine," Bunche's accomplishments further transformed the way the world understood African Americans and their ability to contribute meaningfully to society, as he strove to realize what he described as the "moral dictum that the [|Negro] was a man."

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // — Thomas J. Davis, PhD, JD, is a professor of history at Arizona State University, Tempe, where he teaches U.S. constitutional and legal history. He is the author of // [|Plessy v. Ferguson] // (2012), // Race Relations in America// (2006), // Race Relations in the United States, 1940–1960// (2008), and // A Rumor of Revolt: The Great Negro Plot in Colonial New York// (1985), among other works. //

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> ** Politics: Thurgood Marshall **

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Why [|Thurgood Marshall] ? Marshall was the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court, occupying the highest position ever among African Americans until the election of President [|Barack Obama]. He successfully argued and won the// [|Brown v. Board of Education]  // case in 1954, helping to end racial segregation in public schools. He also helped argue// [|Browder v. Gayle]  // (1956), ending segregation on buses. These legal victories were landmarks for the [|civil rights movement], helping to shatter misguided assumptions of "separate but equal."

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Marshall successfully argued these and many other cases within a judicial system widely considered rife with obstacles to equity and justice. He also decided cases in the highest courts of the land within this same system of hurdles, laying a foundation of precedents for greater freedoms and opportunities. These decisions affected not just African Americans, but all groups fighting for greater rights. Even when he was in the minority on decisions, he anchored counterarguments with strongly worded dissents that will forever be part of the judicial record.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> But more than their potency on any page and their historical precedence within any legal area, his words and actions transcend time to breathe greater opportunity and pride into the existence of every African American life, now and for generations to come. Marshall also recognized the limitations of even his greatest legal triumphs, and inspired all citizens to be better versions of themselves, to move away from fear, division, and isolation, and to act to make this country greater.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // —Raphael Travis Jr., DrPH is associate professor of social work at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He has published articles on [|rap music], African American youth, and identity, including "Rap Music and the Empowerment of Today’s Youth: Evidence in Everyday Music Listening, Music Therapy, and Commercial Rap Music." Travis holds a doctorate in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master of social work degree from the University of Michigan. //

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> ** Literature: Langston Hughes **

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Why note [|Langston Hughes] as a change maker in literature? Hughes helped shape the 20th century through his contributions as author, poet, playwright, and journalist during the [|Harlem Renaissance] and through the rest of his life. Hughes's essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" (1926) proudly offered a new black identity for Negro artists within American cultural history long before blackness was in vogue.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Introducing a new poetic form that combined elements of [|jazz], [|blues] , and [|spirituals] with common talk, Hughes used wit and humor to become "The Poet Laureate of [|Harlem] " and "The People's Poet." His first book of poetry,// The Weary Blues //, was published in 1926, while his signature poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," appeared in// Crisis Magazine // in 1921. He graduated from [|Lincoln University] (1929) and received an honorary doctor of literature degree in 1943. Hughes was a complete writer, recognized for his poetry, essays, articles, autobiographies, plays, short stories, novels, and song lyrics, and he wrote over 348 poems and 11 plays, translated into numerous languages.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Hughes mentored countless young writers, poets and playwrights. He is one of the first black poets introduced to young students today as he wrote poems, essays, and books expressly for children and young adults, setting him apart from other writers of his period. The impact of Hughes's body of work helped to lay a foundation for later generations of poets and authors.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // —An "activist librarian," Andrew P. Jackson (Sekou Molefi Baako) has served as executive director of Queens Library's Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center in New York since 1980. He coedited the award-winning book, //The 21st Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges// (2012) and authored // Queens Notes: Facts about the Forgotten Borough of Queens, New York// (2010). Mr. Jackson was given his African names in recognition of his commitment to teaching black history and presenting cultural programs to the community at large. //

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> ** Music: Chuck D **

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> Why [|Chuck D] ? Because with his distinctive voice and delivery, his clear and persistent political stance and his deep talent as a lyricist, Chuck D firmly established and epitomized the political power of "conscious" hip hop. The contributions of African Americans to music over the past 100 years are truly innumerable. African Americans were the key figures and creators in three of the century's most import genres—jazz, [|rock and roll], and hip hop. All three genres have figures that changed music and culture. However, the biggest change maker in music over the past 100 years is Chuck D, front man of [|Public Enemy].

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> While not the first to pen or spit political lyrics, Chuck D's continual focus on the politics of race and class in America changed the game for hip hop and for American music. His characterization of [|rap] as the "CNN of the [|ghetto] " made clear not only the importance of hip hop to many African Americans but also established for the rest of America the seriousness that could be embedded over beats. The lyrics to songs like "Fight the Power" and "Don't Believe the Hype" resonate as well in 2015 as they did when they were released.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> His work with digital distribution of music and with Internet [|radio] spread his influence beyond that of most artists. The music he has created—with Public Enemy, in collaborations with artists in other genres, and on his own—has influenced many artists in hip hop and other genres and influenced the politics of the hip hop generation. His continued work in hip hop and as a political activist and speaker, particularly on college campuses, sustain his relevance and his legacy.

<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> // —Jessica L. Parker is assistant professor and composition coordinator in the English Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver (formerly Metropolitan State College of Denver). Parker earned her PhD in English from the University of Denver. Her research focuses on African American literature, hip hop, and postmodernism. //

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"Liberation Sans",FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">MLA Citation
<span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #121917; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,"sans serif"; vertical-align: baseline;"> "100 Years of Black History: Background." // The American Mosaic: The African American Experience //. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <span style="color: #2d3835; display: block; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,"Liberation Sans",FreeSans,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">


 * _ 2014**

124 Little Known Facts

About Black History Month from [|www.biography.com]
In 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson and Rev. Jesse E. Moorland co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Their goal was to research and bring awareness to the largely ignored, yet crucial role black people played in American and world history. The following year, Woodson published and distributed his findings in The Journal of Negro History. He founded the publication with the hope that it would dispel popular mistruths. He also hoped to educate black people about their cultural background and instill them with a sense of pride in their race.

The son of former slaves and the second black person to receive a degree from Harvard University, Carter Woodson understood the value of education. He also felt the importance of preserving one's heritage and, upon his urgings, the fraternity Omega Psi Phi created Negro History and Literature Week in 1920. In 1926, Woodson changed the name to Negro History Week. He selected the month of February for the celebration as a way to honor of the birth of two men whose actions drastically altered the future of black Americans. Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. President who issued the Emancipation Proclamation was born on February 12th and Frederick Douglass , one of the nation's leading abolitionists was born on February 14th.
 * [|Abraham Lincoln]
 * [|Frederick Douglass]

Read Black History[| biographies], watch [|videos], see [|photos] and more. Woodson and the ANSLH provided learning materials to teachers, black history clubs and the community at large. They also published photographs that depicted important figures in black culture, plays that dramatized black history, and reading materials. Dr. Carter G. Woodson died in 1950, but his legacy continued on as the celebration of Negro History Week was adopted by cities and organizations across the country. This observance proved especially important during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when the inhumane and unequal treatment of black people in America was being challenged and overturned. Black Panther Badge: Power to the People

The Black Power Movement of the 1970s emphasized racial pride and the significance of collective cultural values. This prompted the ASNLH, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, to change Negro History Week to Black History Week. In 1976, they extended the week to a month-long observance. Black History Month is now recognized and widely celebrated by the entire nation on both a scholarly and commercial level. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History continues to promote, preserve and research black history and culture year-round.

African American History Quiz

African American History Month Exhibit

Black History Month Quiz

History Channel Black History Videos

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