February is Black History Month, and the theme of the 2022 observance is “Black Health and Wellness.”

The theme of the observance is set each year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Black History Month is an annual observance that originated in the United States, where it is sometimes known as African-American History Month. And while the observance has received official recognition from the U.S. and Canadian governments, Black History Month is also observed in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, Black History Month is celebrated in October. The first celebration was in 1987, which marked the 150th anniversary of the Caribbean emancipation. In Ireland, the first celebration took place in October 2010 in the city of Cork. In the 19th century, Cork was a leading center of the abolitionist movement. Leading anti-slave societies welcome a number of Black abolitionists to speak there, including Charles Lenox Remond and Frederick Douglass. The Netherlands has celebrated Black History Month, also in October, since 2015.

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week.”

This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12 and of Frederick Douglass on Feb. 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century. Negro History Week was the center of the equation. The thought-process behind the week was never recorded, but scholars acknowledge two reasons for its birth: recognition and importance. Woodson felt deeply that at least one week would allow for the general movement to become something annually celebrated. Also, after the 10-year-long haul to successfully complete his “Journal of Negro History”, he realized the subject deserved to resonate with a greater audience.

From the event’s initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American Blacks in the nation’s public schools. The first Negro History Week was met with a lukewarm response, gaining the cooperation of the Departments of Education of the states of North Carolina, Delaware, and West Virginia as well as the city school administrations of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Despite this far from universal observance, the event was regarded by Woodson as “one of the most fortunate steps ever taken by the Association,” and plans for a repeat of the event on an annual basis continued apace.

At the time of Negro History Week’s launch, Woodson contended that the teaching of Black history was essential to ensure the physical and intellectual survival of the race within broader society:

“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated,” Woodson said. “The American Indian left no continuous record. He did not appreciate the value of tradition; and where is he today? The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself. In spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization.”

By 1929, The Journal of Negro History was able to note that with only two exceptions, officials with the State Departments of Education of “every state with considerable Negro population” had made the event known to that state’s teachers and distributed official literature associated with the event. Churches also played a significant role in the distribution of literature in association with Negro History Week during this initial interval, with the mainstream and Black press aiding in the publicity effort.

Negro History Week was met with enthusiastic response; it prompted the creation of Black history clubs, an increase in interest among teachers, and interest from progressive whites. Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday.

Black History Month was first proposed by Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, from Jan. 2-Feb. 28, 1970.

Six years later, Black History Month was being celebrated all across the country in educational institutions, centers of Black culture, and community centers, both great and small. President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial.

He urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Now, Black History Month is observed in schools across the nation, by the U.S. government, and by the Department of Defense.

For more on this year’s theme, visit the Association for the Study of African American Life and History website at www.asalh.org.

In this special issue, we highlight some important historical milestones and some key African American figures in the military and in aerospace.