Black History Month

The first black birth on record in what would become the U.S. happened in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1606. And the first African-American birth occurred in 1624, according to the African American Registry. One out of every four cowboys in the 1800s was black, CNN reported. Now there are more than 45 million African-Americans living in the U.S., according to Census Bureau data. That’s about 15 percent of the nation’s population. In 2013, New York had the most African-American residents, with 3.7 million.

Black History Month in February, also known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, also Canada and the United Kingdom (in October) for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century. The expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month was first proposed by the leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of the Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970.

The month of February in Ohio is designated as "Black History Month" to honor and recognize the contributions that African Americans have made in the history of this state and the United States. (5.2244 Black history month.Effective Date: 2008 SB243 04-07-2009)

Interesting facts about Black History: the first black U.S. senator was Hiram Revels in 1870. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909. The first black NBA player was Earl Lloyd in 1950. He played for the Washington Capitols and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame more than half a century later, in 2003. African-Americans were responsible for the invention of 3D graphics, blood banks, gas masks, potato chips and Super Soaker water guns, according to HowStuffWorks and the Atlanta Black Star. Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician serving as the 44th President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born outside of the continental United States.

Source: ohio.gov | wikipedia.org | naacp.org