February is Black History Month. The annual observation is set aside to spotlight the many contributions of Black Americans, as well as elevate awareness around the sacrifices, heritage and luminaries that helped shape U.S. history.
What initially started as a week-long event nearly a century ago, became a month-long celebration in 1976, when President Gerald Ford decreed Black History Month as an official observation. How that designation came to be is one of many Black History facts you may not know, but is instrumental in how Black History Month evolved into what it is today.
You'll also find other interesting facts you may or may not be aware of. For example, you probably know that Harriet Tubman was responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of enslaved persons through the Underground Railroad. But do you know that William Still is considered to be the “Father of the Underground Railroad?”
Find out why and how Still's book on escorting enslaved persons to freedom is an essential part of history, as well as facts on Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Carter Woodson, among other figures and activists.
You'll also discover details about the National Museum of African American History and Culture, who the first Black American to win an Academy Award was, which legendary Black musicians were among the first inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and many other notable facts that commemorate Black History Month.
Pass these facts along or use them as a springboard to learn more about the many notable figures and events that define Black history.
Black History Month began as a week
Black History Month began as merely a week back in 1926 thanks to the efforts of one man: Carter G. Woodson. A scholar and teacher, Woodson was the second Black American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard among many other academic achievements.
Woodson believed that Black history was largely ignored in education, saying that African American contributions were “overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them,” according to the NAACP.
Aiming to change that, Woodson launched Negro History Week in 1926 to honor and highlight the contributions of Black Americans, choosing the second week of February to align with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
The annual commemoration would eventually evolve into the month-long celebration that we now observe as Black History Month.
President Gerald Ford established Black History Month
During America’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976, U.S. president, Gerald Ford, extended what was, then, Black History Week into a month-long recognition.
In a message delivered on Feb. 10, 1976, Ford officially designated the observation, urging citizens to join him in tribute to Black History Month, citing the message of “courage and perseverance” it brings.
“Freedom and the recognition of individual rights are what our Revolution was all about. They were ideals that inspired our fight for Independence: ideals that we have been striving to live up to ever since,” Ford said in his message and called on citizens to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments” of Black Americans.
Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress
In 1968, activist and politician Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Representing the state of New York, Chisholm served seven terms in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983.
Chisholm also ran for president in 1972, becoming the first Black candidate to attempt to seek a nomination from a major party, as well as the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
For her work in office, which included expanding the food stamp program and helping to establish the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Chisholm was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
Before Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin
Nine months before Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested for the very same act of civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama.
On March 2, 1955, the teen was handcuffed and charged with violating segregation laws after she refused to give up her seat, telling the bus driver that it was her “constitutional right” to remain where she was. She became one of four plaintiffs in the landmark court case “Browder v. Gayle,” which ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional.
Rosa Parks would ultimately become the face of the resistance when she, too, refused to give up her seat in December of that same year, igniting the Montgomery Bus Boycott and writing her name in the history books.
The NAACP was founded in 1909
After a violent race riot in Springfield, Illinois, a group of social reformers put out a call to address racial justice. Among them: Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villard, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Archibald Grimké, Mary Church Terrell, William English Walling and Henry Moskowitz.
On Feb. 12, 1909, the activists joined together to form the NAACP, America's largest civil rights organization. The date of its founding is no coincidence, as it was intentionally chosen in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
In the more than 116 years that the NAACP has been around, it's become one of the most influential organizations in the country. It represents not only Black Americans, but all minority groups in the U.S., working to secure civil rights and equality for all citizens.
William Still is the 'Father of the Underground Railroad'
While most people know that Harriet Tubman escorted more than 300 slaves to freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, lesser known is abolitionist and activist, William Still.
Still, a New Jersey resident, moved to Philadelphia in 1844 and aided Harriet Tubman in escorting fugitive slaves to freedom. As chairman of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, Still kept record of the experiences of the enslaved people who moved through the Underground Railroad from 1852 to 1857.
He chronicled their stories in the 1872 book “The Underground Railroad,” which Still dubbed as a record “narrating the hardships, hair-breadth escapes and death struggles” of enslaved persons in their efforts for freedom.
For his account and subsequent years of activism, Still is now known as the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”
Thurgood Marshall was the first Black American appointed to the Supreme Court
Though the U.S. Supreme Court was officially established in 1789, it would be nearly 180 years before a Black American was appointed as one of the justices.
On Aug. 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Black person to serve on the nation's highest court.
Nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Marshall served on the Supreme Court for 24 years before retiring in 1991.
Aside from Marshall, the other two Black Americans to serve on the Supreme Court are current Justices, Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Two U.S. museums honor Black history, culture and heritage
The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., is a national museum exclusively dedicated to documenting the life, history and culture of African American citizens.
Boasting a collection of more than 40,000 artifacts, the museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution and was dedicated, fittingly, by the U.S.'s first Black president, Barack Obama, on Sept. 24, 2016.
The recently-opened International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina also recognizes the heritage and traditions of African Americans and their experience through art, language, music, food and more.
The first Black person to win an Oscar was ...
In 1940, actor Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to be nominated for — and win — an Academy Award for her performance as “Mammy” in the film “Gone with the Wind.”
Appearing in more than 300 films, it was her supporting role in the classic 1939 movie that earned McDaniel an Oscar plaque (statuettes wouldn’t become the norm until a few years later) for the honor.
Though the achievement was history-making, McDaniel and her guest were still required to sit separate from the other nominees as part of the still-enforced segregation. Despite the accomplishment, it would take until 1991 for another Black woman to bring home the same trophy. It’s a distinction that goes to Whoopi Goldberg for her role in “Ghost. The first Black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar? Halle Berry, who picked up the award in 2002 for her role in the film “Monster’s Ball.”
Part of MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was improvised
The galvanizing speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Monument in 1963 goes down in history as one of the most memorable of all time.
Known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, King’s address in front of more than 250,000 people gathered together for the March on Washington didn’t initially include some the historic passages that have since come to define the Civil Rights Movement.
In fact, some of King’s most iconic quotes came unscripted after gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, encouraged King to tell the crowd about “the dream,” leading him to improvise that portion of the speech, according to the National Constitution Center.
Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke and others are among the first ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been honoring legendary musicians and performers since it was established in 1986.
Luminaries from the first class of trailblazers inducted into the Hall of Fame include the following performers: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, Robert Johnson, Little Richard and Jimmy Yancey.
The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Aretha Franklin in 1987.
Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden officially established Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday, the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated as a federal holiday back in 1983.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that legalized slavery officially ended in Texas, the last of the Confederate states to abolish the practice.
Though the holiday wasn't made official until 2021, Juneteenth has been commemorated in the U.S. and countries around the world for decades and represents Black citizens' fight for equality, as well as honoring family and community.
Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat because she was 'tired of giving in'
Activist Rosa Parks is best known for her role in the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott in 1955. Refusing to move to the back of the bus, as was customary for Black citizens, Parks sat in one of the front seats typically reserved for white passengers.
As a result, Parks was arrested, sparking a year-long boycott of the Montgomery bus system, which ultimately led to the desegregation of public transportation nationwide.
In the years since, some have suggested Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus simply because she was tired after work, a fact Parks refuted in her 1992 autobiography saying:
“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
Harriet Tubman was one of the first Black women to serve in the military
Known for helping enslaved persons escape and gain their freedom in through the Underground Railroad, it might be less known that Harriet Tubman also served for the Union Army during the Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865.
Working as a nurse, scout, spy and soldier, Harriet Tubman is considered one of the first Black women to actively serve in the military, according to the National Women's History Museum.
After serving in the war, Tubman helped raise money for freedmen along with joining Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in their fight for women's rights.
Vermont was the first state to ban slavery, Mississippi the last
Known for its sleepy towns and breathtaking scenery, Vermont is also the first state in the American colonies to outright ban slavery. On July 2, 1777, Vermont's legislature voted to not only abolish the practice, but also secure voting rights for Black men.
In subsequent years, other eastern states followed including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
After a clerical error in which Mississippi failed to ratify the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in 1865, the state became the last in the U.S. to officially abolish slavery in February of 2013, 148 years after Congress passed the initial resolution.
