Community Celebrates Black History Month

In the United States, Americans celebrate the illustrious Black History Month in February to honor the countless contributions of African Americans to the United States. According to “History Channel,” this celebration, founded by Carter G. Woodson, began from a week known as “Negro History Week” and, in 1976, became the 28 days we now call Black History Month.

This celebration is important because it acknowledges that Black contributions to music, books, poems and speeches advanced society. Every February, the Black Student Union (BSU) holds an assembly, where there is an alumni speaker and club members who present on various topics. The assembly aims to educate the upper school community about Black and African culture and highlight traditions and customs.

This year, the BSU chose to focus on “Influential Black Woman” in their February 19th assembly. The club’s bulletin board offers pictures and quotations from figures including Quinta Brunson and Ella Fitzgerald. Many members of the BSU spent a recent weekend on a “trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture to learn more about our culture,” said Sophia Fletcher ’27, the BSU event coordinator. 

To learn more about Black history, there are many businesses to support, such as The Florida Avenue Grill in Washington, D.C., and literature to read, such as the 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones. 

In the future, Fletcher said, “We should incorporate [Black history] into our daily curriculum to bring more awareness to the community.” Black history matters because of the many people who identify with the culture and history. Black history is American history.