The Library of Congress webpage contains the following statement:
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.
By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.
(Excerpt from an essay by Daryl Michael Scott, Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History)
About This Year’s Theme
This year’s theme, “The History of Black Economic Empowerment,” recognizes Jacob Lawrence, Annie Malone and civil rights organization the National Urban League for their work and success during economically challenging times.
Jacob Lawrence, an American narrative painter known for portraying scenes of black life and history, was born in Atlantic City, N.J. in 1917. After moving with his family to Harlem at age 13, he took free art classes, displaying talent for creating lively, decorative masks. In 1932, he studied under Charles H. Alston Gouache at the Harlem Art Workshop. Here his use of browns and blacks for shadows and outlines gave his work a distinctive tone. His best-known works center on historical or social themes including “And the Migrants Kept Coming” (1940), “Life in Harlem” (1942) and “War” (1947). During the Great Depression, Lawrence was accepted on a Federal Arts Project, and several years later he received the Rosenwald grant-in-aid, which made it possible for him to acquire his own studio. Eventually he joined Edith Halpert’s Downtown Gallery in New York City. Lawrence visited Nigeria in 1964 where he painted scenes of social life, and his later works included a series on the struggles of desegregation. He taught at various schools and colleges and, in 1971, became a professor of art at the University of Washington in Seattle. He retired in 1986 and died in 2000 in Seattle, Washington. Annie Malone was born in 1869 in Illinois. As a young woman she became aware that there were few cosmetic products available to African-American women. Her interest in chemistry led her to the development of a line of products, and by 1900 she was selling them door-to-door and in local stores. Also at this time she invented and patented a pressing comb to straighten hair, which is still in use today. After moving to St. Louis in 1902, Malone expanded her line of hair products called “Poro.” To sell her products, she used standard business practices, including press releases, advertisements and women who were hired to sell the products and offer testimony of the product’s effectiveness. Malone’s success continued into the 20th century with the opening of Poro College, the first cosmetology school for African Americans. By the 1920s, her wealth was estimated around $14 million. Continuing her work, Malone became a philanthropist, donating to various causes. She died in 1957.
The National Urban League was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in New York City. It is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. It spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. There are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia. They provide direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than two million people nationwide.
Jacob Lawrence, an American narrative painter known for portraying scenes of black life and history, was born in Atlantic City, N.J. in 1917. After moving with his family to Harlem at age 13, he took free art classes, displaying talent for creating lively, decorative masks. In 1932, he studied under Charles H. Alston Gouache at the Harlem Art Workshop. Here his use of browns and blacks for shadows and outlines gave his work a distinctive tone. His best-known works center on historical or social themes including “And the Migrants Kept Coming” (1940), “Life in Harlem” (1942) and “War” (1947). During the Great Depression, Lawrence was accepted on a Federal Arts Project, and several years later he received the Rosenwald grant-in-aid, which made it possible for him to acquire his own studio. Eventually he joined Edith Halpert’s Downtown Gallery in New York City. Lawrence visited Nigeria in 1964 where he painted scenes of social life, and his later works included a series on the struggles of desegregation. He taught at various schools and colleges and, in 1971, became a professor of art at the University of Washington in Seattle. He retired in 1986 and died in 2000 in Seattle, Washington. Annie Malone was born in 1869 in Illinois. As a young woman she became aware that there were few cosmetic products available to African-American women. Her interest in chemistry led her to the development of a line of products, and by 1900 she was selling them door-to-door and in local stores. Also at this time she invented and patented a pressing comb to straighten hair, which is still in use today. After moving to St. Louis in 1902, Malone expanded her line of hair products called “Poro.” To sell her products, she used standard business practices, including press releases, advertisements and women who were hired to sell the products and offer testimony of the product’s effectiveness. Malone’s success continued into the 20th century with the opening of Poro College, the first cosmetology school for African Americans. By the 1920s, her wealth was estimated around $14 million. Continuing her work, Malone became a philanthropist, donating to various causes. She died in 1957.
The National Urban League was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in New York City. It is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. It spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. There are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia. They provide direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than two million people nationwide.
