History News Network

Black History Month

Originally published 02/14/2014
Black History Month Isn't Making Life Better for Black Americans

Heroes like Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks feel like characters in a novel—a world away from the clicking locks and nervous glances that plague millions of ordinary people.

Originally published 02/06/2014
School apologizes for black history lunch menu of fried chicken and watermelon

Officials at the Carondelet High School for Girls in Concord apologized to students, parents, and the community.

Originally published 10/17/2013
Top Ten Books for Black History Month

The civil rights movement is a perennially popular topic that has spawned a massive body of literature.

Originally published 03/05/2013
Swastikas, slurs drawn on Black History Month posters at Oberlin

...In the last month, racist, anti-Semitic and antigay messages have been left around [Oberlin College], a jarring incongruity in a place with the liberal political leanings and traditions of Oberlin, a school of 2,800 students in Ohio, about 30 miles southwest of Cleveland. Guides to colleges routinely list it as among the most progressive, activist and gay-friendly schools in the country.The incidents included slurs written on Black History Month posters, drawings of swastikas and the message “Whites Only” scrawled above a water fountain. After midnight on Sunday, someone reported seeing a person dressed in a white robe and hood near the Afrikan Heritage House. Mr. Krislov and three deans announced the sighting in a community-wide e-mail early Monday morning....

Originally published 02/13/2013
Why the next pope should be African

Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, was asked last week at the celebration of Black History Month in Toronto if he thought that the time was ripe for an African pope. His answer attracted much cheering from the crowd of over 500 Catholics of African descent. He said: "The time for an African pope was ripe even in the time of the Apostolic Fathers in the first century of the church. "I am not saying that I wish to be considered for the papacy, but the fact that the Gospel is to be preached to all peoples, languages, and races means that the highest leadership of the church should be open to anyone from any race, language and nation. I will not be surprised to see an African pope in my lifetime."...

Originally published 02/07/2013
Smithsonian museums host series of programs to mark Black History Month

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian is celebrating Black History Month with a series of programs in February.Throughout the month, the National Museum of American History will present performances by historical characters in “Join the Student Sit-Ins.” Visitors will meet a civil rights activist from 1960 and take part in a training session based on an actual civil rights manual to prepare for a sit-in. The performance is presented Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.On Monday, the National Museum of American History will mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation by hosting a webcast for high school students. Scholars will reflect on the abolition movement of the 19th century....