Every February, individuals and institutions across the country observe Black History Month with special programs, school assignments and recognition of the lives and legacies of Black Americans. Here at Canton Public Library, we highlight the works of Black creators through our collections, website and displays.
These days, Black History Month is a far-reaching cultural event, but it wasn’t always: its existence is the culmination of decades of hard work by Black activists and scholars and a small piece of the fight for Black Liberation, a movement that persists today in the form of Black Lives Matter.
The first nationally recognized Black History Month occurred in February 1976. President Gerald Ford issued a proclamation as part of the United States’ bicentennial celebrations, asking all Americans to join in honoring "the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Ten years later in 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244 officially designating February as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month." Of course, this would not have happened without public pressure exerted by the civil rights movement and a long history of Black activism.
Before the national designation, the first celebration of Black History Month at Kent State in 1970 was a hard-won accomplishment by the Black students at the University, particularly Erwind Blount, the leader of Black United Students (BUS).
Celebrations included a month of lectures and readings by scholars and artists such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Babatunde Olatunji, and marked the opening of Kent State’s own campus Black Cultural Center. In a massive effort, BUS collaborated with other campus organizations to ensure that events were free for all students.
Blount and his peers faced pushback from faculty and administration, but their grit and persistence ultimately prevailed, eventually leading to the creation of the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State.
The Kent State efforts were partially inspired by leaders like Frederick H. Hammurabi, who celebrated “Negro History Month” in the 1960s at his House of Knowledge in Chicago. Devoted to studying “historic links between African-Americans and African culture and traditions,” the House of Knowledge was a cultural hub.
An accomplished writer and rabble-rouser, Hammurabi and the House of Knowledge published and disseminated radical literature and films. This tradition lives on in the work of artists like Noname, a rapper-turned-activist from Chicago who opened the Radical Hood Library, “a Black-led, Los Angeles-based literary liberation project” and headquarters of the “Noname Book Club” which promotes work by and serves Black, Indigenous and other People of Color.
Hammurabi himself built on the work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a man often referred to as the "Father of Black History" who founded “Negro History Week” in 1926. Born in 1875, Woodson was the only American child of slaves to earn a Ph.D. and the second Black American to graduate from Harvard (after W.E.B. du Bois).
In 1915, Woodson brought a Black history display to an exhibition in Washington, D.C. in honor of the 50th anniversary of emancipation. The enthusiasm of the crowd inspired Woodson to found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
In 1916, Woodson started The Journal of Negro History, and in 1924, he collaborated with his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, to start “Negro History and Literature Week” to promote the stories and achievements of Black people and African American scholarship. This week evolved into ASALH’s Negro History Week in 1926.
Woodson chose a week in February because it encompassed the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass; the Black community had long been celebrating these birthdays, and Woodson intended that his History Week eventually replace them.
"Woodson believed that history was made by the people, not simply or primarily by great men. He envisioned the study and celebration of the Negro as a race… [T]he black community, he believed, should focus on the countless black men and women who had contributed to the advance of human civilization."
- Daryl Michael Scott, Professor of History at Howard University and Vice President of Program, ASALH
The story of Black History Month is closely linked with the story of Black Liberation. It isn’t about the work of singular heroes, rather the story of community organizing and how a movement builds, evolves and triumphs in the face of oppression.
ASALH continues promoting Black History Month by issuing annual themes and hosting events. In 2026, the theme is “A Century of Black History Commemorations” and ASALH will have free programs that can be viewed on ASALH TV via YouTube.
Canton Public Library encourages you to explore these events and join us in the reflection and celebration of Black lives.
References and Further Readings
Black history month. (2026). ASALH. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from, https://asalh.org/festival/
Bronzeville. (2021). Choose Chicago. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from, https://www.choosechicago.com/neighborhoods/bronzeville/
Burkett, R. K. (2015, May 1). Hammurabi in the (MARBL) house. Rose library blog. https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/marbl/2015/05/01/hammurabi-in-the-marbl-house/
Ford, G. R. (1976, February 10). Message on the observance of black history month. Speech. Gerald R. Ford presidential library & museum. https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0248/whpr19760210-017.pdf
Carter G. Woodson: Winona, WV. (2017, February 3). National Park Service. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from, https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/carter-g-woodson-winona-wv.htm
Katz, D. (2013, February 1). How a history month becomes a law. Findlaw. Retrieved November 17, 2026, from, https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/how-a-history-month-becomes-a-law/
Long, S. (2021, October 6). We’re Raising a Fist for the Radical Hood Library, Noname’s Latest Literary Liberation Project. Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/10/10704700/noname-book-club-radical-hood-library
Matthew. (2016, February 9). Black history month @ PSC library. Pioneers read. https://pioneersread.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/black-history-month-psc-library/
Scott, D. M. (2011) Origins of black history month. ASALH. https://asalh.org/about-us/origins-of-black-history-month/
Veal, L. (1970). “Black history month” begins with opening of culture center. Daily Kent Stater, 55(52), 3. https://dks.library.kent.edu/cgi-bin/kentstate?a=d&d=dks19700203-01.2.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------
Add a comment to: Black History Month