Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it corresponded to the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

Q: African Americans have a rich history. But why is 'Black History Month' celebrated in February?

A: We owe the celebration of Black History Month to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, he worked in the Kentucky coal mines as a child and enrolled in high school at age twenty. He graduated in two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. As a student, he was disturbed to find that history books largely ignored the black American population. If blacks were mentioned at all, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they were assigned at the time.

Woodson decided to take on the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's history. He established the 'Association for the Study of Negro Life and History' in 1915; later re-named to the 'Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History' (ASALH) . In 1916, he founded the widely respected 'Journal of Negro History'. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American history.

Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it corresponded to the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two men who greatly impacted the American black population. In 1976, the Association succeeded in expanding the observance, which then became Black History Month.

Other significant dates in February...

• February 23, 1868:
  W. E. B. DuBois, important civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, was born.
   
• February 3, 1870:
  The 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.
   
• February 25, 1870:
  The first black U.S. senator, Hiram R. Revels (1822-1901), took his oath of office.
   
• February 12, 1909:
  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.
   
• February 1, 1960:
  In what would become a civil-rights movement milestone, a group of black Greensboro, N.C., college students began a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter.
   
• February 21, 1965:
  Malcolm X, the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism, was shot to death by three Black Muslims.