Today February 1st marks the start of Black History Month a time to pay tribute to the contributions of African-Americans who have helped shape the nation that’s right and you can’t celebrate Black History Month without knowing how it came to be so tonight we learn more about the Man known as the
Father of Black History Dr Carter G Woodson a distinguished author editor and teacher dedicated his life to educating black people about the achievements and contributions of their ancestors he was very instrumental in education and I think he figured that not only should he educate himself but he should educate the community on what
We’ve accomplished and who we are over at the ethnic Heritage Museum you’ll find David Ruffin the director of the African-American Gallery he’s been studying black history for three decades and we should learn the accomplishments the uh tribulations that we suffered uh and once you understand
It it can help you to improve and make don’t make the same mistakes again and how we can improve life David tells me Carter G Woodson wasn’t able to go to school until the age of 20 born in 1875 his parents were former slaves and he spent the early years of life helping
Out on his family’s Farm to make in meat but his hunger for Education never weavered he went on to get his master’s degree from the University of Chicago and he got as PhD um from Harvard University making him the only the second African-American to get a uh PhD from Harvard Woodson
Believed young African-Americans were not being taught enough about their own Heritage so in 1915 he founded the association for the study of negro life and history in Chicago and a few years later his Devotion to showcasing black history took another big step forward a lot of people don’t know that black
History Month actually started as a week in February 1926 Woodson announced the first negro history week and he did it with the help of his Brotherhood Omega Sci-Fi fraternity Incorporated a historically black Greek lettered fraternity founded in 1911 he became an honorary member February 10th 1917 Kanan deer is a
Senior at Northern Illinois University he’s the director of Greek life for the student government Association and the Iota Delta chapter president of Omega Sci-Fi fraternity Kanan says Dr Woodson used the fraternity as a stepping stone to reach the masses the support of the fraternity was I say Monumental and um
Dr Woodson’s efforts because he I guess you could say he was sort of the vessel and the fraternity was the platform that he used any position of power doesn’t really change you as the person itself it sort of just amplifies you um if you’re someone who has done tons of
Community work before join running then you’ll just have a much bigger platform to do bigger things on a grander scale the idea of recognizing black history eventually grew and by 1976 it evolved into what we know as black history month but it’s is eye opening to know that someone built that
Bridge um prior to me getting here there is no American history without black history and Carter G Woodson’s Legacy lives on as people across the nation continue to educate themselves and others on the achievements of black Americans without those that knowledge we could repeat the same mistakes again
Black history mon is so important because in a lot of um cases minorities don’t really get the support that they need but you know by dedicating a time for African-American support to be at his highest is kind of like um I say like a breeding ground for black
Excellence and if you’re wondering why black hist history month is celebrated in February it was chosen because it’s the month in which both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas were born now Lincoln was influential in the emancipation of slaves and Douglas a former slave was a prominent leader in the Abolitionist Movement which fought
To end slavery so definitely thankful for K G Woodson’s efforts this Black History Month yeah very informative there that was a great story yeah thank you well and also don’t forget to tune in to our Black History Month special we’re just getting started Black Culture Amplified Our Roots we’ll take you on a
Journey through time looking back on our past history origin and also our culture well also shedding new insight into the foundation black Americans have laid right here in our community the special air Saturday February 17th at 5:00 p.m. you don’t want to miss it
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