Black History Month Essay Sample

During the month of February, we celebrate and remember the past of the African American's and all the racism and inequality that they had to endure in the past (and even now) all just because of their skin color. Black History Month's first iteration was during "Negro History Week" which was created by Carter G. Woodson in February of 1926. Woodson had established help establish "Negro History Week" and Black History Month due to his studies on African Americans and had even created an organization called, "The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History." The organization was founded on September 9th of 1915 and is the oldest organization that established promotion to the black race up to this date. The original idea of this organization was to encourage people of all ethnicities and backgrounds to discuss the black race and what they have had to endure. The reason that Black History Month is celebrated in February is that Woodson did a week-long observation and observed that both former president Lincoln's and Frederick Douglass's birthdates collided on the same date. 

As the years passed, Black History Month has been recognized by many individuals supporting and even becoming advocates for Black History Month. An example of an individual that has advocated and supported was Martin Luther King Jr. King was a social activist and a baptist minister and activist who played a key role in the civil rights movement from the mid-1950s till King's assassination in 1968. One of King's most memorable speeches was in 1955 when he had served as a spokesperson for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a campaign by the African-American population of Montgomery after Rosa Park's arrest, Alabama to force integration of the city's bus lines. According to the History Channel, "He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986."

Black History Month has come a long way since 1926. Black History Month affected society and individuals as well, especially ones that are African-American. For example, schools are welcoming to individuals of all races, everyone is welcomed onto the same bus no matter what your race is, and most of the time everyone gets treated the same. Are there still problems including racism? The answer is simple, yes. There are still individuals who attack and treat African Americans without respect. For example, the police enforcement will sometimes treat people of the white race with more respect and not as harshly as they would treat one of the black race. Though society has had to overcome lots of obstacles to finally learn how to let people of the black ethnicity into society without getting criticized, there is still a lot that has to be done.