Black History Month, monthlong commemoration ofAfrican American history and achievement that takes place each February in theUnited States. It was begun in 1976.

The idea for a Black History Month was firstconceived by the historianCarter G. Woodson and members of his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). Together they organized aNegro History Week, beginning in February 1926. They selected the month of February for this celebration because it was close to the birthdays of U.S. Pres.Abraham Lincoln, who had been responsible for theEmancipation Proclamation, and the African American orator andabolitionistFrederick Douglass. During the next 50 years Negro History Week grew in popularity, with American cities initiating their own celebrations of Black achievements and with teachers—particularly in schools with a large percentage of African American students—using class time to discuss contributions to history made by notable African Americans. Thecivil rights movement also contributed to its popularity. Negro History Week was expanded to become Black History Month in 1976, with U.S. Pres.Gerald Ford urging Americans to participate in its observance.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Black History Month was celebrated with a range of events at public schools, universities, and museums as well as within individualcommunities across the country. It was sponsored at the national level by such groups as theLibrary of Congress, theNational Archives and Records Administration, theNational Endowment for the Humanities, theNational Gallery of Art, theNational Park Service, theSmithsonian Institution, and theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum.