February is  Black History Month  — but if you’re anything like us, you might be hard-pressed to come up with anything about how or why that came to be, or what exactly to do about it. We’re committed to changing that, and we hope you’ll join us. 

 

THE ORIGINS OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

 

In 1915, just fifty years after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, historian  Carter G. Woodson  and minister  Jesse E. Moorland  founded what’s known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). 

In 1926, ASALH sponsored a national “Negro History Week.” Over the next fifty years, that event evolved into  Black History Month  and was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976.

According to Lonnie Bunch, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Woodson and ASALH had two goals: 

 

“...to use history to prove to white America that blacks had played important roles in the creation of America and thereby deserve to be treated equally as citizens.”

“...to increase the visibility of black life and history, at a time when few newspapers, books, and universities took notice of the black community, except to dwell upon the negative.”

 

Black history  is American history, and we need to change how it’s taught — and how we teach ourselves about it. To Bunch’s points, this past year has proven all too well how unequally Black communities are treated, and how ubiquitously negative that treatment is. 


HOW TO GET ENGAGED


This isn’t just about a month, of course, or really about anything we at Faherty have to say: it’s about understanding the historical inequities our nation is built upon, in order to fuel our ongoing commitment to change. 

It is up to each of us to keep fighting for justice, in pursuit of freedom for all. One of the best ways to do that? Educate yourself through Black voices and support Black creators. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a few resources to help you use this month to build a stronger foundation for the work ahead:


If there’s anything we know, it’s that we’re #BetterTogether — so if you have any other resources or upcoming events you’d like to share, send an email to  help@fahertybrand.com  or DM us  @FahertyBrand  on Instagram any time.

 

 

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