Happy Black History Month!
Shalom, my name is Phyllis Duncan, and I am an assistant at Saint Joseph House. This month’s Reflection is on The Richness of Black History Month and the man who wrote the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.
As a child, February was an exciting time for me. This was the month that we would have assemblies with art, music, poetry, and dance done by the students. Every year, I participated from 5th to 8th grade.
Black History Month, once called Negro History Week, was started by Carter G. Woodson, who in 1926 first set out to promote and educate people about the history of Black People and Culture. Woodson envisioned a weeklong celebration to encourage teaching of Black History in school. He designated the second week of February as Negro History Week.
The idea wasn’t to place limitation but to focus and broaden the nation’s consciousness.
The idea eventually grew in acceptance, and by the late 1960’s, Negro History Week had evolved into what is now Black History Month. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford officially made Black History Month a holiday.
As an African American woman, I feel it is my duty to continue to educate my grandchildren and others about our rich history, culture, and the many gifts we have given to the world.
James Weldon Johnson was born July 17, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida, and died at the age of 67 in 1938, due to a car crash. He was an American writer and activist who played a central role in the Harlem Renaissance and also headed the NAACP/National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.