Summary
How did February come to be Black History Month? It started about a hundred years ago, with a historian named Carter G. Woodson. The child of formerly enslaved people, Woodson was only the second Black person to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. But his attempts to get mainstream historians to take Black history seriously—or even admit such a thing existed!—fell on deaf ears. So Woodson decided he’d be the change he wanted to see: He started an association devoted to saving, researching, and spreading the word about Black history. And in 1926, he created the first national February celebrations, timed to overlap with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Press “play” to find out how today’s and yesterday’s festivities compare!
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Black History Month:
- What is one new thing you learned about black history month?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining black history month.
- Draw or give one example of your own.