Black History Month

Black History Month Honors Legacy of Struggle and Triumph

Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles — slavery, prejudice, poverty — as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.

In 2009, the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first African-American president, lends Black History Month a special significance. Obama took the oath of office January 20, the day after Americans honored the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday and national day of service. The late civil rights leader would have turned 80 on January 15. (more)

Feature Articles

Presidential Proclamation on National African American History Month

Identity in America: Are Perspectives Shifting?

Landmark Exhibit on Race Asks “Are We So Different?”

We have a moment

It cannot continue

Museums Preserving Black History, Culture

Carter G. Woodson, Father of Black History

Carter G. Woodson, founder of Black History Month.

One of the most inspiring and instructive stories in black history is the story of how Carter G. Woodson, the father of black history, saved himself for the history he saved and transformed.

The skeletal facts of his personal struggle for light and of his rise from the coal mines of West Virginia to the summit of academic achievement are eloquent in and of themselves and can be briefly stated. more…

Supreme Court Justice Marshall

By 1961, Thurgood Marshall had contributed as much as any American to the legal defeat of segregation. Thanks to Marshall's efforts, activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have the law – and the millions of Americans who respect the law – on their side. By setting the law firmly against public segregation, Marshall and his colleagues contributed to a climate in which laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would outlaw many forms of private discrimination. more...

Americans Celebrate Achievements of Martin Luther King Jr.

"I have a dream " (©  AP Images)
Americans on each third Monday of January honor the life and achievements of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., (1929–1968), the 1964 Nobel Peace laureate and the individual most associated with the triumphs of the African-American civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s.     more...
Barack Obama Becomes 44th President of the United States


America “ready to lead once more,” Obama says in Inaugural Address
Shortly after noon EST (1700 GMT) January 20, Barack Obama took the presidential oath of office, becoming the 44th president and first African-American leader of the United States.        more...
Photo Gallery
Celebrations of Diversity in the American Calendar
The U.S. Civil Rights Movement
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Pioneering African-American Athletes
The Making of American People
Reference
Black History Month Links
Online Reading on Diversity
African-American History and Culture
From Slave to Freedom
The African-American Mosaic
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

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