Happy Black History Month! During February, we embark on a journey of discovery, celebration and remembrance as we honor Black History Month. The month provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the profound contributions, struggles and triumphs that have shaped the Black experience. Explore these facts about Black History Month as we honor the legacy of those who have paved the way for a more inclusive and equitable world. Black History Month is not just a month to reflect; it's an opportunity to amplify voices and appreciate the cultural contributions that connect us all.
Feb. 1, 1926
What is now known as Black History Month, was first celebrated on this date as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson. It became a month-long celebration in 1976.
Feb. 2, 1948
President Truman sent Congress a special message urging the adoption of a civil rights program, including a fair employment practices commission and anti-lynching and anti-poll tax measures.
Feb. 3, 1956
Autherine J. Lucy becomes the first black student to attend the University of Alabama.
She was expelled three days later "for her own safety" in response to threats from a mob. In 1992, Autherine Lucy Foster graduated from the University with a master’s degree in education. The same day, her daughter, Grazia Foster, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance.
Feb. 4, 1794
France abolishes slavery. The nation will have a lukewarm commitment to abolition and will under Napoleon, reestablish slavery in 1802 along with the reinstitution of the "Code noir", prohibiting blacks, mulattoes and other people of color from entering French colonial territory or intermarrying with whites.
Feb. 5, 1990
Columbia University graduate and Harvard University law student, Barack Obama became the first African American named president of the Harvard Law Review.
Feb. 6, 1945
Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae star, is born.
Feb. 7, 1967
Comedian, author, recording artist, actor, and talk show host Chris Rock was born in South Carolina. He will become a critically acclaimed comedian, hosting his self-titled show on HBO. He will also bring to the forefront a boycott of the flag of his birthplace. He will star in and make a few movies of his own.
Feb. 8, 1944
Harry S. McAlphin is the first African American accredited to attend White House press conference.
Feb. 9, 1944
The first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Alice Walker, was born the eighth child of sharecroppers Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker.
Feb. 10, 1966
Andrew Brimmer is appointed by President Johnson to become the first African American governor of the Federal Reserve Board.
Feb. 11, 1644
The first Black legal protest in America was pressed by eleven Blacks who petitioned for freedom in New Netherlands (New York). The Council of New Netherlands freed the eleven petitioners because they had "served the Company seventeen or eighteen years" and had been "long since promised their freedom on the same footing as other free people in New Netherlands."
Feb. 12, 1956
In 1956, the first black late-night talk show host in history, Arsenio Hall, was born.
Feb. 13, 1892
The first African American performers, the World's Fair Colored Opera Company, appear at Carnegie Hall.
Feb. 14, 1946
Gregory Oliver Hines was a renowned actor, dancer, singer, and choreographer born in New York City, New York.
Feb. 15, 1848
Sarah Roberts is barred from white school in Boston. Her father, Benjamin Roberts, filed the first school integration suit on her behalf.
Feb. 16, 1904
James Baskett, the first male African American to win an Academy Award, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Feb. 17, 1891
A. C. Richardson, a black inventor, invented the churn, patent no. 466,470.
Feb. 18, 1896
Grenon, H. patents the Razor Stropping Device, patent no. 554,867.
Feb. 19, 1942
The Army Air Corps' all African American 100th Pursuit Squadron, later designated a fighter squadron, was activated at Tuskegee Institute. The squadron served honorably in England and in other regions of the European continent during World War II.
Feb. 20, 1927
Sidney Poitier, an American actor and director, and the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, was born.
Feb. 21, 1940
Rep. John Lewis, U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon, who chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to 1966, was born. He was a Democrat who represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death in 2020.
Feb. 22, 1888
In West Chester, Pennsylvania, African American painter Horace Pippin was born. Pippin is considered one of the major American painters of his period. One of his more significant works, "John Brown Going to His Hanging," is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Feb. 23, 1868
W.E.B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, author, editor, and activist who was the most important Black protest leader in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, was born.
Feb. 24, 2020
Katherine G. Johnson, the NASA mathematician who played a key role in helping America win the space race and whose story was featured in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, dies.
Feb. 25, 1965
Veronica Webb, an African American model, actress, writer, and television personality and first African American to have a major cosmetics contract when she signed with Revlon in 1992, was born.
Feb. 26, 1964
On this day in 1964, boxer Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Feb. 27, 1883
Walter B. Purvis patented hand stamp.
Feb. 28, 1932
Richard Spikes invented and patented the automatic gear shift.
Feb. 29, 1940
On this day, Hattie McDaniel, known for her supporting roles, became the first African American to win the Oscar Award for her role as 'Mammy' in the movie Gone With The Wind. Not only was she the first African American to receive this award, but she was the only woman to have received it until Whoopi Goldberg received the same award for her role in the movie Ghost.
This content has been curated by the ESC's Equity Committee. To learn more about our internal DEI efforts, click here. To learn more about bringing DEI efforts to your classroom, visit our DEI Support page.