Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries commemorates Black History Month

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday, Feb. 1, commemorated the beginning of Black History Month, noting that 100 years ago, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month, to celebrate the contributions and achievements of Black Americans.

“Dr. Woodson made the astute observation that ‘those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history,’” said Jeffries, representative for the 8th Congressional District encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

“Black history is an indispensable part of the American story,” he added. “From the resilience of enslaved Africans who were first brought here in 1619 to the valor of Black troops who served in every U.S. military conflict since the American revolution, brilliance of inventors like Dr. Charles Drew and courage of civil rights champions like Rosa Parks, Dr. King, Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis, Black Americans have shaped us into the nation we are today.

“Ensuring that the full story of America is told is now more important than ever, with Donald Trump and his sycophants banning books about Black people from classrooms and libraries, sanitizing history at National Parks and Smithsonian museums, and repeatedly glorifying the racist traitors who fought for the Confederacy,” Jeffries continued. “This erasure of history paired with the Trump administration’s elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is part of a concerted attack on the livelihoods of Black Americans.”

He said House Democrats will “push back aggressively against efforts to turn back the clock on progress and whitewash American history.
“We remain inspired by the examples of those who got into Good Trouble and committed to pushing forward our country’s long, necessary, and majestic march towards a more perfect union,” Jeffries said. “Together, we shall overcome.”

According to Daryl Michael Scott, former national president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the story of Black History Month begins in Chicago during the summer of 1915.
An alumnus of the University of Chicago with many friends in the city, Carter G. Woodson traveled from Washington, D.C., to participate in a national celebration of the 50th anniversary of emancipation sponsored by the state of Illinois, writes Scott on the ASALH website.

He said thousands of African Americans travelled from across the country to see exhibits highlighting the progress their people had made since the destruction of slavery. Awarded a doctorate from Harvard three years earlier, Scott says Woodson joined the other exhibitors with a black history display.

Despite being held at the Coliseum, the site of the 1912 Republican convention, Scott said an overflow crowd of 6-12,000 waited outside for their turn to view the exhibits.Inspired by the three-week celebration, Scott said Woodson decided to form an organization to promote the scientific study of black life and history before leaving town.

On Sept. 9, Scott said Woodson met with A. at the Wabash YMCA. L. Jackson and three others formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). A graduate member of Omega Psi Phi, Scott said Woodson urged his fraternity brothers to take up the work.

In 1924, Scott says they responded by creating Negro History and Literature Week, which they later renamed Negro Achievement Week. “Their outreach was significant, but Woodson desired greater impact,” Scott wrote.

In 1925, he saids Woodson decided that the association had to shoulder the responsibility.“Going forward, it would both create and popularize knowledge about the black past,” Scott saaid. “He sent out a press release announcing Negro History Week in February 1926.”

In 1976, 50 years after the first celebration, Scott said the association used its influence to “institutionalize the shifts from a week to a month and from Negro history to black history.

“Since the mid-1970s, every American president, Democrat and Republican, has issued proclamations endorsing the association’s annual theme,” he saids. “What Carter G. Woodson would say about the continued celebrations is unknown, but he would smile on all honest efforts to make black history a field of serious study and provide the public with thoughtful celebrations,” Scott added.