Start of Black History Month (US, February)

Black History Month is celebrated in the United States and Canada each February. Black History Month traces its origins to Negro History Week which was first created in 1926 with the week chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) and Frederick Douglass (February 14th). An annual monthlong celebration of black history was later proposed by students and educators at Kent State University in 1969, and adopted one year later. By the mid-1970s, Black History Month was celebrated across the United States and officially recognized by US President Gerald Ford in 1976. Originally intended to celebrate black history and culture in the United States, Black History Month has since spread to Canada, as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, where it is celebrated in October.