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Black History Month Honors Stories of Determination and Triumph
February, 2008
Integrated Science in the Everglades
Volunteer Brunetta Vinson views a Smithsonian Institution exhibit on Martin Luther King Jr. at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit on January 13, 2002. The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin" is a collection of 120 works by more than 100 artists who have been inspired to carry on King's spirit through their art.
© AP Images


Volunteer Brunetta Vinson views a Smithsonian Institution exhibit on Martin Luther King Jr. at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit on January 13, 2002. The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin" is a collection of 120 works by more than 100 artists who have been inspired to carry on King's spirit through their art. (© AP Images)

Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles -- slavery, prejudice, poverty – as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.

In this year’s Presidential Proclamation on National African American History Month, President Bush said, “Throughout our Nation's history, African Americans from all walks of life have offered their talents to the betterment of American society. We are reminded of their courage in their struggle to change the hearts and minds of our citizens. While much progress has been made, we must continue to work together to achieve the promise and vision of our great Nation.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also praised the contribution of great African-American diplomats such as Carl Rowan, Ralph Bunche and Colin Powell, and encouraged a new generation to come forward.

2008 also marks the 82nd annual celebration since Carter G. Woodson, a noted scholar and historian, 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. The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial. This year’s theme, “Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism,” honors his contributions and belief “that America should embrace the cultural differences that newcomers brought with them to America,” according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Web site. Woodson and other black intellectuals of the early twentieth century believed that democracy “required tolerance of difference and could sustain those differences in harmony.”

In conjunction with this year’s celebration, the U.S. and U.K delegations co-hosted the French Premiere of “Amazing Grace” at UNESCO. The film is based on the life of British antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce, whose work influenced the U.S. to officially abolish the slave trade on January 1, 1808, and continued to inspire and encourage those who fought against slavery in the United States, including the author Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and President John Quincy Adams.



Links

Celebrating Black History Month at the Department of State: Secretary Rice speaks at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2008

View video

Official website of the International Year of Planet Earth

Presidential Proclamation on National African American History Month, January 29, 2008

Black History Month on America.gov

Article: Black History Month Honors Stories of Determination and Triumph

Article: Growing Number of Museums Preserving Black History, Culture

Publication: FREE AT LAST: The U.S. Civil Rights Movement (excerpts)

 
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