Black History Month is a yearly celebration in countries like the United States of America (USA) and Canada, that serve as an opportunity to remember and celebrate the African diaspora, including African-American history. In 1976, during the celebration of the events that led to the creation of the USA as an independent state, President Gerald Ford (The 38th President of the United States of America) recognized the Black History Month celebration.
February is the recognized Black History Month for the USA and Canada, and countries like the United Kingdom, France, and Republic of Ireland mark the celebration in October. During a Black History Week celebration in 1926, Historian Carter Godwin Woodson said ‘If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.’
African-American history began in the 16th and 17th century, following the arrival of over 10 million Africans who were sold to Europeans and Americans during the slave trade era. These Africans were sold to white colonists to work on cash crop farms, and over 380,000 landed in North America.
Black History Month does not take away the importance of other races, neither does it erase their struggles and unfair history. This month serves as a reminder of the great contributions that Black people have continued to render to humanity, across every corner of the world.
