Celebrating 100 years of Black history
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – This year marks 100 years since the start of Black History Month, and two local voices are bringing light to the past events behind the month and what it recognizes.
“Black history is American history,” said Dr. John A. Hardin, a retired Western Kentucky University professor and second vice president of the NAACP. He also shares that African Americans were often excluded from traditional history studies.
In 1926, historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History established what became known as Black History Week.
The movement emerged during a decade of cultural and intellectual growth for many African Americans, helping bring wider recognition to Black contributions.
That momentum led to the official establishment of Black History Month in 1976 during the presidency of Gerald Ford.
Andrew Rosa, an associate professor of history and Africana studies, said “Woodson was instrumental in building national support for celebrating Black history.”
Woodson, a Virginia native, attended Berea College in Kentucky and later became the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University.
Through his scholarship, Woodson highlighted African Americans who were overlooked, including scientists, military leaders and Black troops who fought during the Civil War.
Rosa said learning about these contributions fills critical gaps in the nation’s historical understanding. Because of Woodson’s work and others like him, Black History Month is now celebrated worldwide as part of American and global history.
