DPPL Celebrates Black History Month

Happening at the library

DPPL Celebrates Black History Month

Picture of Heather Imhoff — by **Heather**
02.25.20

February is Black History Month and throughout the month we have celebrated at the library with events and displays to honor the contributions of African Americans, past and present.

A little history.....

Black History Month is an annual observance in February, celebrating the past and present achievements of African Americans.

In 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson—historian, teacher, and author—founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

In February 1926, Woodson proposed the establishment of Negro History Week to honor the history of African Americans, and their contributions to American life.

Dr. Woodson, known as the Father of Black History, chose the second week of February because it commemorates the birthdays of 2 men who greatly affected the African American community: Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14).

Negro History Week became Black History Week in the early 1970s.

Author, speaker, and educator, Michelle Duster explains the racial divisions of the suffrage movement and how the struggle for African American women to be included extends to today when it comes to documentation and commemorations of the movement. — Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells, speaking to a full-house at DPPL on February 22, 2020.

In 1976, the week-long observance was expanded to a month in honor of the nation’s bicentennial. Black History Month continues to be sponsored by ASALH, its founding organization, who also designates its annual theme.

The 2020 theme is African Americans and the Vote.

Even though the suffrage movement was focused on women gaining the right to vote, the battle was mostly fought separately along racial lines. White women shunned and marginalized African American women, which propelled them to form their own groups.

On February 22nd Des Plaines Public Library welcomed the great-granddaughter of civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells, Michelle Duster to the library.

African American Suffragist Program at DPPL

In a presentation entitled African American Suffragists and the Struggle for Representation she explained the racial divisions of the suffrage movement and how the struggle for African American women to be included extends to today when it comes to documentation and commemorations of the movement.

And because one month is not near enough time to recognize and honor the rich and diverse history and important contributions and achievements of African Americans.