February is Black History Month, an annual tribute to generations of African Americans whose invaluable contributions to this country were achieved in the face of tremendous adversity. Originally a week-long observance created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, the celebration was expanded to a month in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford. Black History Month is celebrated in February to acknowledge the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809) and Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1818.) In a 2016 speech, President Obama said: "Black History Month…is about taking an unvarnished look at the past so we can create a better future. It’s a reminder of where we as a country have been so that we know where we need to go." The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) announced that the theme for the 2025 celebration of Black History Month is "African Americans and Labor." This year-long theme focuses on “the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Indeed, work is at the very center of much of Black history and culture.” Click here to learn more about the 2025 theme and themes for prior and upcoming years. Click here to learn impactful ways to celebrate the holiday. Finally, click on the book jackets below to be taken to links in our catalog. History lives as long as we continue to learn.
"There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up." Booker T. Washington
"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." Langston Hughes
"Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated." Coretta Scott King
Last Modified April 16, 2025