Black History Month 2012
Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of African Americans over slavery, prejudice, poverty as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life. Black History Month was the inspiration of historian Carter G. Woodson who instituted Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. In 1976 on the nation’s bicentennial, the celebration was officially expanded to last a month. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Resources:
Presidential Proclamation - National African American History Month, 2012
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, January 2011.
The story of African Americans is a story of resilience and perseverance. It traces a people who refused to accept the circumstances under which they arrived on these shores, and it chronicles the generations who fought for an America that truly reflects the ideals enshrined in our founding documents. It is the narrative of slaves who shepherded others along the path to freedom and preachers who organized against the rules of Jim Crow, of young people who sat-in at lunch counters and ordinary men and women who took extraordinary risks to change our Nation for the better. During National African American History Month, we celebrate the rich legacy of African Americans and honor the remarkable contributions they have made to perfecting our Union. Read More…
Video Message for the International Year for People of African Descent
The United Nations and the Organization of American States have named 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent. This is an opportunity for all of us around the globe to celebrate the diversity of our societies and to honor the contributions that our fellow citizens of African descent make every day to the economic, social and political fabrics of our communities.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/01/155435.htm
Making Their Mark: Black Women Leaders
eJournal USA
This issue of eJournal USA profiles African-American women of the 20th and 21st centuries who have made significant contributions to many spheres of American life. It also offers insights into how earlier generations of African-American women serve as touchstones for the present generation. Read More…
Michelle Obama Presents Modern Image for Black Women
On January 29, President Barack Obama signed his first piece of legislation: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The act is named for a woman who filed a pay discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after learning that her employer — Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company — had been paying her less than it paid male supervisors for years
Read more…
Exploring Black History Month
http://www.america.gov/amlife/people.html
Black History Month Honors Legacy of Struggle and Triumph
http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2010/January/20070126175516xlrennef0.8811151.html?CP.rss=true
Beyond Dr. King: More Stories of African American Achievement http://www.america.gov/notable_african_americans.html
Free At Last - The U.S. Civil Rights Movement
This book recounts how African-American slaves and their descendants struggled to win — both in law and in practice — the civil rights enjoyed by other Americans. It is a story of dignified persistence and struggle, a story that produced great heroes and heroines, and one that ultimately succeeded by forcing Americans to confront squarely the shameful gap between their universal principles of equality and justice and the inequality, injustice, and oppression faced by millions of their fellow citizens
http://www.america.gov/publications/books-content/free-at-last.html
Museum Seeks to Document the African-American Experience: National Museum of African American History and Culture starts new program
http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2010/January/20100127150943GLnesnoM9.864444e-02.html
Reports:
African American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2011.
Congressional Research Service, April 8, 201
There are 42 African American Members serving in the 111th Congress, 41 in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. President Barack Obama served in the Senate until he resigned on November 16, 2008. There have been 125 African American Members of Congress: 119 have been elected to the House; five have been elected to the Senate; and one has been appointed to the Senate. There have been 98 Democrats: 95 in the House, three in the Senate; and27 Republicans: 24 in the House, three in the Senate.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30378.pdf (pdf 416kb)
AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth.gov
February 1, 2012
The site contains several categories of resources:
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/index.html
2012 National Black History Theme: Black Women in American Culture and History
Association for the Study of African American Life and History. 2012.
From the American Revolution to the present, African American women have played a myriad of critical roles in the making of our nation. Their labor and leadership, their motherhood and patriotism, and their intellect and artistic expression have all enriched both the African American community and the nation at large. In slavery and freedom, their struggles have been at the heart of the human experience, and their triumphs over racism and sexism are a testimonial to
our common human spirit.
In American culture today, many know of the accomplishments of a few prominent figures. From Phillis Wheatley, the unlikely American patriot during the Revolutionary War, to Harriet Tubman, the leader of the Underground Railroad from slavery, to Ida B. Wells, the unyielding opponent of lynching, to Rosa Parks, the mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement, black women have been notable for standing against oppression. From Gwendolyn Brooks to Toni Morrison to Rita Dove, they have distinguished themselves in American letters, and in recent years they have been recognized as actors and recording artists with Academy Awards and Grammys. Read more…
Taken from the website of Association for the Study of African American Life and History http://www.asalh.org/
2012 National African American Read-In
National Council of Teachers of English. January 2012.
It is the Twenty-First National African American Read-In. Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities.
http://www.ncte.org/action/aari/packetinfo
African American History Month
Law Library, Library of Congress. September 23, 2011.
National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation's history.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/african-american.php
African American History: Prominent African Americans Past and Present
Lakewood City Schools. 2012
The site lists prominent African Americans from the past and the present with links.
http://www.lkwdpl.org/schools/blhist/
African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection 1818-1907
American Memory, Library of Congress. 2012.
The collection presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, with the bulk of the material published between 1875 and 1900. Among the authors represented are Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Benjamin W. Arnett, Alexander Crummel, and Emanuel Love.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html
Black (African American) History Month
Smithsonian Education. January 2012
The Smithsonian Education site has many links to events, African American Virtual Tour and other resources.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/bhm/index.html
African American History Virtual Tour
http://heritagetours.si.edu/bhm.html
Celebrate Black History
The Biography Channel. January 2012.
The site includes interactive timeline, history, people, and others.
http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/index.jsp
Events in African American History ,2000+
The timeline for 2000+ provides up to President Obama’s cabinet selections.
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/index.htm 1600-1699
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/1700.htm 1700-1799
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/1800.htm 1800-1849
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/1850.htm 1850-1899
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/1900.htm 1900-1949
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/1950.htm 1950-1999
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/timeline/2000.htm 2000-
The NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom
Library of Congress. February 3, 2010
In commemoration of African American History Month, the Library of Congress on Feb. 3 will launch a new online exhibition about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization which has donated its records to the Library, where they are the most-consulted collection. The exhibit presents a retrospective of the major personalities, events, and achievements that shaped the NAACP’s history during its first 100 years.
http://myloc.gov/exhibitions/naacp/Pages/default.aspx