February Is Black History Month

Several events are happening around Tulsa to celebrate Black History Month.

This circa 1980 stamp features Carter G. Woodson, who has been called the “Father of Black History.”

February is Black History Month. African-American historian Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) was the originator of Black History Month, and has been called the “Father of Black History.” The self-taught son of former slaves, Woodson went on to earn a master’s degree in history from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Harvard. Upset that history books of the time generally ignored the achievements of blacks, Woodson sought to rectify the situation in part via the founding of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, as well as that group’s publication, “The Journal of Negro History.”

In 1926, Woodson launched “Negro History Week,” scheduled during the second week of February in order to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two men who had had profoundly positive influences on the African-American population. In 1976, the commemoration was expanded to a full month, and February became Black History Month in the United States. Canada also celebrates Black History Month in February; the United Kingdom observes it in September.

Some people have questioned whether Black History Month is still necessary. The original intent of the focus on black history was to ensure a broader and more complete view of history, rather than to emphasize a narrow and specific part of it. In 1926, Woodson said, “We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.” This month of special focus is designed to counter centuries of imbalanced history; in that respect, its work is not yet accomplished.

Here’s some of what’s happening in the Tulsa area for Black History Month:

On Saturday, February 5 at 10 a.m., the African-American Resource Center at Rudisill Library (1520 N. Hartford) will host Dr. Gerald Early, the Merle Kling professor of modern letters and director of African and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Early will discuss what African-American literature is and if we still need it.

Dr. Early is the author of a number of books on such topics as race, culture and sport, and has edited many others. A book signing will follow his talk. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the African-American Resource Center at Rudisill Library at (918) 549-7645.

On Thursday, February 17 at 6 p.m., Tomiko Brown-Nagin, the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of History at the University of Virginia School of Law, will present the Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture at the University of Tulsa College of Law. Brown-Nagin will be presenting “Movement Lawyers, Courts, and Social Change.”

The Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture honors one of Tulsa’s first black attorneys. After the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, Franklin, whose office and home had been destroyed, served his community from a tent. He won a court decision that struck down a city ordinance designed to prevent blacks from rebuilding their homes in Tulsa.

Brown-Nagin’s presentation will be held in the Price and Turpen Courtroom in John Rogers Hall. Her lecture and the following reception are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Scott Been at (918) 631-2568.

For more information about Black History Month, visit the African-American Resource Center at Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford in Tulsa.

For more information, contact

Rudisill Library African-American ­Resource Center

(918) 549-7645

www.tulsalibrary.org/aarc