Why Do We (Black People) Get The Shortest Month of the Year?

In 1926, Harvard graduate, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, choose the second week of February to celebrate Negro History Week because of the birthday’s of two prominent men that positively influenced the black population – Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Over time, other historical events took place for African-Americans that turned our week celebration into a month long annual tradition that started in 1976.

I’ve heard plenty of people say that Black people get the month of February because it is the shortest month of the year. However, listed below are some of the real reasons that Black History Month is celebrated in February:

• 
  February 23, 1868: W.E.B. DuBois co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is born.

February 3, 1870: 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grant’s Black men the right to vote.

February 25, 1870: Hiram R. Revels (1822 -1901) became the first Black U.S. senator.


February 12, 1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formulated by blacks and progressive whites.

February 1, 1960: Monumental civil rights movement begins in Greensboro, North Carolina by college students.


February 21, 1965: Malcolm X was assassinated.

So, next time you hear someone ask, “Why do we celebrate Black History Month in February”, you can enlighten them with the facts and not a false assumption.