Black History Month Info Guide

February marks the beginning of Black History Month, a federally recognized, nation-wide celebration that provides the opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the significant roles that African-Americans have played in the shaping of U.S. history. But how did this celebration come to be -- and why does it take place in February?

We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.” - - Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) on founding Negro History Week, 1926

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, considered to be a pioneer in the study of African-American history, is given much of the credit for Black History Month. The son of former slaves, Woodson spent his childhood working in coalmines and quarries. He received his education during the four-month term that was customary for black schools at the time. At 19, having taught himself English fundamentals and arithmetic, Woodson entered high school, where he completed a four-year curriculum in two years. He went on to receive his Masters degree in history from the University of Chicago, and he eventually earned a PhD from Harvard.

Disturbed that history textbooks largely ignored America's black population, Woodson took on the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's history. To do this, Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. He also founded the group's widely respected publication, the Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he developed Negro History Week. Woodson believed that "the achievements of the Negro properly set forth will crown him as a factor in early human progress and a maker of modern civilization." Because of his work, Dr. Woodson has been called the "Father of Black History."

In 1976, Negro History Week expanded into Black History Month. The month is also sometimes referred to as African American Heritage Month.

Woodson chose the second week of February for the celebration because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population: Frederick Douglass (February 14), an escaped slave who became one of the foremost black abolitionists and civil rights leaders in the nation, and President Abraham Lincoln (February 12), who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which abolished slavery in America's confederate states. Other events of significance to black American history:

• February 23, 1868: W. E. B. DuBois, important civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, was born.
• February 3, 1870: The 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.
• February 25, 1870: The first black U.S. senator, Hiram R. Revels (1822-1901), took his oath of office.
• February 12, 1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.
• February 1, 1960: In what would become a civil-rights movement milestone, a group of black Greensboro, N.C., college students began a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter.
• February 21, 1965: Malcolm X, the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism, was shot to death by three Black Muslims.

From:
"History of Black History Month." CNN.com posted: 6:01 p.m. EST, January 31, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/01/30/extra.black.history.month/index.html
"Black History Month: the History of Black History." Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease 27 Jan. 2010
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmintro1.html

Here are just a few items available in our collections:

To find the many more items in our collections visit the PINES Catalog and use it for a keyword search on Black History. If you want fewer results, go the the Advance Search and do the same keyword search but also choose, fiction or non-fiction, the format - book, audiobook, etc. and / or the age level or audience.

Children’s Books

Slavery the Struggle for Freedom
by James Meadows
Call Number J 973.0496 MEA

Tommy Traveler in the World of Black History
by Tom Feelings
Call Number J 973.0496073 FEELINGS

Adult Books

Black Roots A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American family Tree
by Tony Burroughs
Call Number 929.1 BUR

Freedom Bound a History of America's Civil Rights Movement
by Robert Weisbrot
Call Number 323.4 WEI

From Midnight to Dawn : the last tracks of the underground railroad
by Jacqueline Tobin
Call Number 973.7115 TOBIN

Video Recordings

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Call Number DVD AUTOBIOG




Bridge to Freedom (1965) America's Civil Rights Years
Call Number VID 323.11 BRI


Ship of Slaves the Middle Passage
Call Number VID 380.144 SHIP


Genealogy

Too few African American families tell their stories. Once you really get into the research, you will discover amazing stories and lives that your ancestors have led just from finding and interpreting the records. You'll never put your research aside for that reason and many more. The friends and the community of researchers out here. Is your family from the Newton County area? Start in our Heritage Room with some of the following titles.

African American Genealogical Sourcebook by Byers, Paula K. (Paula Kay
Focuses on basic genealogical research methods as they apply to African Americans, on records specific to African Americans, and on background information essential to research activity. A directory of genealogical information lists libraries, archives, private and public organizations, print resources, and other media holding sources valuable to African American research.
Call Number HR 929.1 AFR

Black Genealogy by Blockson, Charles L.
A unique guide among standard genealogical references, the author, a noted genealogist and African American historian, traced his own family roots back through the 18th century. Along his journey, he discovered obstacles and advantages that make searching for black family history a rewarding experience.
Call Number HR 929.1072 BLO

Black Studies: a select catalog of National Archives microfilm publications by National Archives and Records Service.
Call Number HR 016.973 UNI

Finding a Place Called Home : a Guide to African-American Genealogy and Historical Identity by Dee Woodtor ...is a comprehensive guide to finding your African-American roots and tracing your family tree."
Call Number HR 929.1 WOO

Finding Your People: an African-American guide to discovering your roots by Jamison, Sandra Lee
A comprehensive guide to public records, alternative sources, and other documents, this handbook offers exciting new ways to unveil the past. Includes locating lineage and pedigree documents.
Call Number HR 929.1 JAM

A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors : how to find and record your unique heritage by Smith, Franklin Carter
An easy, step-by-step instruction for researching slave and free black ancestors pre- and post-Civil War. More than an exhaustive list of resources, this book draws a map to guide researchers, whether novice or experienced, through the genealogical wilderness to their ancestors long forgotten. It introduces readers to a systematic approach that should help eliminate months or years of aimless wondering.
Call Number HR 929.1 SMITH

How To Trace Your African-American Roots by Howell, Barbara Thompson
A hands-on book for black Americans who want to meet and know their ancestors, this book includes specially designed worksheets and easy-to-read genealogical charts.
Call Number HR 929.1 HOW

Slave Ancestral Research: it's something else by Fears, Mary L. Jackson
A good story of one person's search in Georgia records with plenty of reproductions of original documents. Written in an appealing personal style, readers are taken through the author's trials and triumphs in search of her slave ancestors. Along the way, we learn much about the strengths, weaknesses and even pitfalls of various types of records.
Call Number HR 929.2 FEARS

Internet Sites

Black History Month from Biography.com
With an Interactive timeline, games, videos, fast facts and a wealth of information on history and the people that made it, this is learning made fun.

Black History Month Tribute from YouTube
by New Beginnings Community Church Wilson NC Pastors Israel and Rachel Campbell www.nbcconline.com, uploaded February 21, 2007.
A tribute to African American heroes accompanied by music from Mariah Carey.

Black History Month - Teacher Resources from Teachervision
By grade level and subject find lesson plans, activities, reading lists, printables, articles and quizzes all relating to African American history.

The History of Black History Month from ASALH.org (Association for the Study of African American Life and History
From the creators of Black History Month find information, celebration and the annual theme information.