Black History Month
“Hello Chicago. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
Barack Obama, Election Night Victory Speech, Chicago, November 4, 2008
Africans came to the New World in the early days of exploration. In the early 1500s, Africans, some coming in freedom, some in slavery, worked as soldiers, interpreters and servants for explorers Ponce de Léon, Cortés and others.
As Europeans established long term colonies in the Americas, increasing numbers of Africans arrived, often against their will. In 1619, one year before the English pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, a group of about twenty African people were brought to Jamestown in captivity, shaping the African experience in America for centuries.
They and those that followed, brought their varied cultures from the African continent, folklore, language, music and food. Perhaps even more importantly, they brought skills and trades that helped shape industry and agriculture in the New World.
The Origins of Black History Month
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell
Historian Carter G. Woodson realized this long before Orwell. Woodson has been called the Father of Black History. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the Black African diaspora in the United States.
In February 1926, he established “Negro Week” in Chicago. It was a seven day positive portrayal of the African community and it’s contributions.
He chose the second week of February in recognition of Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th and Frederick Douglass’ birthday celebration on the 14th. Although the first celebration of “Negro Week” was met with a lukewarm response, it grew over the following decades.
The focus has always been to teach the history of American Blacks in the nation’s schools. By 1929, it was being met with an enthusiastic response from churches and educators. As it’s popularity grew, mayors from across the country began endorsing it as a holiday.
Kent State University
Black History Month was proposed by Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in February, 1969. The first month long celebration took place there one year later in 1970.
Six years later, Black History Month was being celebrated across the country in educational institutions and black community centers. During America’s Bicentennial Celebration, President Gerald Ford urged all Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected acccomplishments of Black Americans in every endeavor throughout our history.”
Civil Rights and Activism
Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist and social activist. After her escape from slavery, she made thirteen missions rescuing seventy plus people from enslavement.
During the Civil War, she worked as cook and a nurse and then as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. She is credited as the first woman to lead a military operation in the United States.
In her later years she became active in the women’s suffrage movement until she became ill. She spent her last days in a home for elderly African Americans which she helped establish years earlier.
Almost everyone is familiar with Rosa Parks, whose courage started the Montgomrey Bus Boycott. Dr. Martin Luther King’s name is synonymous with the Civil Rights movement.
Science, Business and Politics
Carl Stokes was the first Black mayor of a major city, Cleveland, Ohio. His brother Louis was an attorney, and civil rights activist. He served fifteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving the Cleveland’s east side. Both men were leaders in the Clean Water Act and began the process that cleaned up our rivers and lakes.
John Robert Lewis served in the House of Representatives from 1987 until his death in 2020. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, for his work in the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1968 Shirley Chisolm became the first black woman elected to Congress. In 1972 she became the first black canidate to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Frederick Douglass (profiled in Nov. 2025 issue of iIrish) was an early abolitionist.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African Supreme Court Justice. All of these people and many more like them paved the way for Barack Obama to become a two term president.
George Washington Carter was a renowned scientist and inventor. He was best known for his work in agriculture. Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician, her work was crucial to the first manned space flights.
Sports and Entertainment
American music would not be the same without the contributions of African Americans. They have influenced every genre of music. From the blues to jazz, hip hop, rock and roll to opera. Where would we be without folks like Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington, Myles Davis or B.B. King. Rock and Roll without James Brown, Chuck Berry or Jimi Hendrix, I can’t imagine it.
Muhammed Ali, “the greatest”, stood up for his beliefs during the height of his professional career and came back to become a legend in boxing. Serena Williams holds 73 career titles in womens tennis.
Ireland
Black History Month began as a pilot initiative in Co. Cork in 2010. Since then it has grown into a national program, adressing racism and discrimination by helping people understand different cultures.
Zephrynus Okechi Ikeh arrived in Ireland in 2007 from Nigeria. It was his goal to educate and help give Africans an identity in their adopted home.
“I came to Ireland in 2007. It’s an innovative country whereby anything is possible if you do a little hard work. Africans need more identity here. Many Irish people don’t appreciate how Africa is structured because they look at Africa as a nation rather than a continent. There is no proper means of communicating the cultures, traditions and histories of Africa to Irish society. I see the Black History events as a means of intercultural communications and dialogue for the minority ethnic groups in Ireland, and for the host communities to understand themselves better in a cultural perspective. The essence of Black History events are for you to look at your present from the past. I believe that to fuction effectively in your present state, you must know your history. The wise man is the one who has made a careful study of the past (ancient) and modern history, and adjudged the knowledge of the future by the knowledge of the past.”
Ireland became the fourth country to devote a month to recognize Black History. It is celebrated in October.
