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Why Do We Recognize
Here’s everything you need to know about this special month and why it’s important to celebrate.
Recognizing Black History
In 1969, leaders of Kent State University's Black United Students proposed a month-long celebration, which took place one year later in February 1970. In 1976, this observance was renamed Black History Month. That year, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month and called on the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Every U.S. president since has recognized February as Black History Month.
Black History Is American History
Dr. Woodson chose February to recognize Black history because the Black community had traditionally celebrated the February birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, each of whom had significantly impacted Black history. According to a Texas A&M Today report, Dr. Woodson thought Black history had been ignored in U.S. educational curricula, so he wanted Negro History Week – and later, Black History Month – to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and recognize them as pioneers who’ve helped build our nation and our democracy from the ground up since 1619, when the first enslaved people were brought to America.
Black History Month may have started in the United States, but it is now celebrated in several other countries. Canada, which began recognizing the month in 1995, also celebrates Black History Month in February. In the UK, Black History Month was first officially celebrated in October 1987. Ireland and the Netherlands also recognize Black history in October, which Ireland began celebrating in 2010. In Germany, the second European country to begin observing the month after the UK, was established in 1990. May marks the beginning of Black History Month in Panama, and in July, Australia recognizes its rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture as part of Black History Month. Finally, Costa Rica celebrates the History of African-Descended Peoples in August.
A Worldwide Celebration
Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History selects a Black History Month theme. The 2025 theme, “African Americans and Labor,” focuses on the myriad and profound ways that work and working of all kinds intersect with the collective experiences of the Black community. Historically, work has been at the center of Black Americans’ history and culture, and Black labor has been foundational to the history, culture and growth of the United States. According to Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, “This is our national truth: America would not be America without the wealth from Black labor, without Black striving, Black ingenuity, Black resistance.”
While much progress has been made since Dr. Woodson began celebrating Black History Month in 1926, more work and education are needed to combat the continued marginalization, oppression and racism that Black Americans still face. Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis and countless others fought tirelessly for basic human, civil and equal rights. The work of the Black Lives Matter movement – and that of many others in our local communities – carry on their legacies. Black History Month is a good starting point to learn more and open a larger conversation about the ongoing fight for equality and how you can help.
The Struggle
and the Opportunity
To show your support of Black History Month, download a virtual meeting background at
Littler Celebrates Black History Month - 2025 | Littler Mendelson P.C.
African Americans and Labor
Black History Month dates back to 1915, when Harvard-educated scholar and historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as the “Father of Black History,” created the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History – now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History – to promote the scientific study of Black life and history.
On February 7, 1926, he introduced the first “Negro History Week.” According to Texas A&M Today, his goal was not to celebrate individual historical figures, but instead to highlight the entire Black American community, which has helped shape and advance the nation’s history from the beginning.
Early Beginnings
