Following the leadership of nearly three decades of U.S. presidents, Utah Valley University (UVU) honors National Black History Month. We celebrate our Black students, staff, and faculty all year long as an important part of our Wolverine community. This National Black History Month, learn more about this commemorative month and how you can get involved in our vibrant Black student community on campus.

What Is Black History Month?

National Black History Month’s earliest roots trace back to 1915, the 50^th anniversary of the 13^th Amendment and the abolition of slavery. Historian Carter G. Woodson created “Negro History Week” a decade later, in 1926, which was observed during the second week of February. This week was chosen to celebrate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two prominent figures in African American history.

The initial purpose of Negro History Week was to uplift Black history as a formal field of study within American schools, colleges, and universities. The commemorative week was created during an era where education was segregated, along with many other aspects of American life. Woodson’s goal to bring Black history into the mainstream curriculum was radical because of how established segregation was at both a legislative and a cultural level.

Negro History Week grew and expanded alongside the broader Civil Rights Movement. Over the years, more teachers and educators became interested in Black history and how to integrate it into broader American history. Conversations surrounding this push happened alongside the fight for desegregation in schools. By the time the Supreme Court made its decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Negro History Week was observed in communities and colleges across the U.S.

By the late 1960s, Negro History Week had evolved into a full month of celebrating Black history on many college campuses. In 1969, Black educators and students at Ohio’s Kent State University formally proposed expanding Negro History Week into an official month-long observance. The celebration gained large amounts of traction in both schools and colleges as well as Black communities.

President Gerald Ford called for national support of National Black History Month in 1976. A decade later, Congress passed a joint resolution designating February as National Black History Month in 1986, exactly 60 years after the first Negro History Week. Every year since 1996, every U.S. president, regardless of political affiliation, has issued an annual proclamation in support of Black History Month, from George W. Bush to Joe Biden.