Every February, the United States observes Black History Month, a nationwide celebration of the achievements, culture, and creative genius of Black Americans and the wider African diaspora. For CreARTivity, whose roots run from New Jersey through the Caribbean to the world, it is one of the most important months of the year, because so much of what moves modern culture began with Black creativity.

From a single week to a full month

Black History Month began as Negro History Week, launched in February 1926 by the historian Carter G. Woodson, often called the “Father of Black History.” Woodson chose the second week of February to align with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The observance grew steadily over the decades, and in 1976, during the nation’s bicentennial, it was expanded and officially recognized as Black History Month. Today it is marked across schools, museums, and cultural institutions nationwide.

A legacy written in art

Few communities have shaped global culture as profoundly as the Black diaspora. In music alone, the world owes jazz, blues, gospel, soul, reggae, and hip-hop to Black creativity. In visual art, generations of painters, sculptors, photographers, and quilters have told stories that reshaped how we see history and ourselves. In literature, dance, film, and fashion, Black artists have set the pace for the culture at large, often while facing exclusion from the very institutions their work would go on to transform.

Creativity as resistance and joy

Black art has always carried a double power: it bears witness to struggle and it celebrates life. From spirituals sung in the hardest of times to murals that turn city walls into monuments, this is a tradition that has used creativity as both testimony and triumph. That balance of truth and beauty, of memory and joy, is one of the great gifts Black culture has given the world.

Honoring the month

You can mark Black History Month by visiting an exhibition of Black artists, reading the work of a Black writer, supporting Black-owned galleries and creative businesses, or simply sharing the work of an artist you admire with someone new. At CreARTivity, we see it as a chance to celebrate a heritage that has enriched every corner of art and culture, and whose creativity continues to shape the world today.

Woodson and the first Negro History Week

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) says it was established on September 9, 1915, by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The official Black History Month site explains that Woodson conceived Negro History Week in 1925, with the first observance in February 1926, chosen to honor the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Black history clubs sprang up and teachers demanded materials. President Gerald Ford’s 1976 message urged Americans to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans, and every president since has issued a Black History Month proclamation.

Art as history

Paintings, quilts, photographs, sculpture and music are all ways that history has been kept when other records were missing. Explore more through our books on the art of the Americas and the Haitian Heritage Month guide.

Sources

• Black History Month, About
• ASALH, About us
• American Presidency Project, Message on Black History Month (1976)