February is Black History month, which implies that consistently we recall the African-Americans who have left a mark on the world—and made America what it is today. Here are 10 facts about black history.
1. Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Month in 1926 to feature the frequently neglected part that African Americans played in both American and world history. Woodson went ahead to be the second African American to get a Harvard degree. He went down in history as famous for his African American quotes which continue to be widely used in speeches.
2. February was chosen as the month to watch Black history since it is the birth month of abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14) and President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12).
3. Jazz, an African– American musical form born out of the blues, ragtime and marching bands, originated in Louisiana during the turn of the 19th century. “Jazz” is a slang term that at one point alluded to a sexual act.
4. During the 1930s, painter Charles Alston established the 306 group, which convened in his studio space and offered help and apprenticeship for African-American artists, including Langston Hughes; stone carver Augusta Savage; and blended media visionary Romare Bearden.
5. Before Wally Amos became famous for his “Renowned Amos” chocolate chip treats, he was a headhunter at the William Morris Agency, where he worked with the likes of The Supreme’s and Simon & Garfunkel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN_gZi4hnY4
6. In the 1930s due to Negro History Week’s popularity, it quickly became commercialized. Book publishers who might regularly overlook Black subjects raced to put books available and in schools. Intellectuals popped up everywhere and would seize the opportunity to charge for speeches, taking advantage of the public interest in Black history.
7. In view of the broad enthusiasm for Black history, during the Civil Rights Movement in the South, a few schools consolidated Black history into the educational programs with the expectation of beginning a scholarly development that would advance social change.
8. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed on friend Maya Angelou’s birthday, on April 4, 1968. Angelou stopped celebrating her birthday for for years afterward, and sent flowers to King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, for over 30 years, until Coretta’s demise in 2006.
9. Louis Armstrong learned how to play the cornet while living at the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys.
10. Countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
