Black History Month is an annual event that originated in the United States. It is also known as African American History Month. Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom also observe Black History Month. Every year, the U.S. and Canada observe Black History Month in February, and Ireland and the U.K. in October. Black History Month celebrates the achievements of people and events in the history of the African diaspora.
In 1926, Black History Month was initially called "Negro History Week" by American Historian Carter G. Woodson. Celebrated every second week of February, Woodson chose this timeframe because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, both of whom Black communities had celebrated since the late 19th century. (Mukila, 2023)
The idea of Negro History Week was to encourage Black Americans to become more interested in their history and heritage. In the early 1900s, American schools, as some do now, were omitting Black American achievements. Negro History Week became very successful, so Carter G. Woodson started to advocate for a more extended celebration. The observance officially evolved to Black History Month in 1976, with President Gerald R. Ford being the first American president to honor it.
Black History Month 2025 Theme
This year's theme is "African Americans and Labor," which celebrates and highlights the impact of Black Labor, whether free, paid, skilled, voluntary, or vocational. Reflecting on Black people's labor allows one to educate oneself on our nation’s structure and agriculture. For hundreds of years, African Americans were crucial to the physical building of the U.S. While acknowledging the significant contributions of “African Americans and Labor,” let us not forget the rich and long-standing contributions of Black History itself.
As we close out Black History Month for 2025, share and document the stories of your elders with your children and grandchildren. History that is not recorded cannot be studied.
Mukila, Nelson, “13 Intriguing Facts About Black History Month,” Africa Lifestyle, 2023,https://africalifestyle.com/culture/13-less-known-facts-about-black-history-month/
Ebony Stonewall-James is a Client Communications Specialist at Pinnacle HR Consulting, LLC (“Pinnacle HR”). Founded in 2011, Pinnacle HR is a minority and woman-owned human resources consulting firm that supports small non-profit organizations and businesses primarily in the Washington, DC, region.
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