About Black History Month
February is Black History Month
The history of Black History Month has a special connection to Kentucky. in 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson -- an alumnus of Berea College in Kentucky -- organized the inaugural "Negro History Week." He chose a week in February that spanned the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Dr. Woodson was the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, and devoted the bulk of his professional life to his pioneering works on African American history and culture.
Black History Week expanded into Black History Month, first at the behest of college activists in the late 1960s. In 1976, Gerald Ford became the first president to officially recognize February as Black History Month.
Explore Books by Black Kentuckians
UKY Resources:
- Notable Kentucky African AmericansContains short biographies of notable African Americans with Kentucky roots or ties, organized by profession or subject. Also includes entries for events and locations. Includes links to related resources.
- Kentucky Writers: Lineage, Contemporary Kentucky African American Writers Oral History ProjectCurated by the University of Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. This is a series of interviews conducted by Shanna Smith with Kentucky's top contemporary African American writers.
- Blacks in Lexington Oral History ProjectCurated by the University of Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. Project Summary: "This project was originally created as a partnership with the Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County in 1978. These interviews concern the educational, political, economic, and social opportunities for African Americans in Lexington during the twentieth century." Includes 230+ interviews.
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