Black History

Black History Month, or National African American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history.

The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. That September, the Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by black Americans and other peoples of African descent. Known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures.

In the decades that followed, mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the Civil Rights Movement and a growing awareness of black identity, Negro History Week had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses. President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme.  The 2013 theme, “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington“, marks the 150th and 50th anniversaries of two pivotal events in African-American history.  Click here for the Executive Summary:  http://asalh.net/docs/2013ExecutiveSummary.pdf.

Article from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history-month.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  From its Galveston

Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future. Its growing popularity signifies a level of maturity and dignity in America long over due. In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today. Sensitized to the conditions and experiences of others, only then can we make significant and lasting improvements in our society., Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19^th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Resources:  From juneteenth.com and http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01

Calendar

September 2013

September 3, 2013
Labor Day

October 2013

October 8, 2013
Columbus Day

October 12, 2013
Allensworth Annual Rededication
This special event is presented to renew the commitment of the citizens of California to help the Department of Parks and Recreation preserve the history of the contributions made in the development of the state of California and our nation.  Website:  http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=583

November 2013

November 1, 2013
Adopt a family, nursing home or school

November 6, 2013
Election Day

November 7-16, 2013
Donations for Community Food Banks

November 17, 2013
LACCD BFSA Potluck and Meeting

November 11, 2013
Veteran’s Day

November 12, 2013
Veteran’s Day Observed

November 22, 2013
Thanksgiving

December 2013

December 1, 2013
Planned Giving & Charitable Contributions Drive/End-of-the Year Tax-deductible Giving
Adopt a family, nursing home or school

December 14, 2013
Holiday Outing and End-of-the-year Forum

December 24, 2013
Christmas Eve

December 25, 2013
Christmas

December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014
Kwaanzaa

• Wednesday, December 26, 2013:  Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Thursday, December 27, 2013:  Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves stand up.
• Friday, December 28, 2013:  Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Saturday, December 29, 2013:  Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Sunday, December 30, 2013:  Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Monday, December 31, 2013:  Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Tuesday, January 1, 2013:  Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

December 31, 2013
New Year’s Eve

January 2014

January 2, 2014
New Year’s Day Observed

January 16, 2014
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

February 2014

February 1-29, 2014
Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

• Black History Month Celebration
• Black Film Week
• The African Village

Third Friday of February
LACCD BFSA Potluck and Meeting

March 2014

March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day

April 2014

April 1, 2014
Palm Sunday

April 2-9, 2014
LACCD Spring Break

April 6, 2014
Good Sunday

April 8, 2014
Easter Sunday/Resurrection Sunday

May 2014

May 1, 2014
Annual Scholarship Drive Kick-off

First Friday of February
LACCD BFSA Meeting and Annual Tea at Lady Effie’s Tea House

May 28, 2014
Memorial Day

May 31, 2014
District-wide Black Graduation & Scholarship Luncheon/Reception
Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

June 2014

Date and Time TBA
LATTC Graduation

Date and Time TBA
Umoja Father’s Day Fishing Trip

June 19, 2014
LACCD BFSA Juneteenth Celebration
Hosted by Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

Date and Time TBA
California African American Museum’s Young Docent Program
Two-week summer training in which student gain specialized knowledge of museum exhibitions and programs.

July 2014

July 4, 2014
Independence Day

August 2014

Black August
An annual commemoration of the black liberation movement in its entirety, from the sixteenth century slave rebellions in the Americas to the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and,to the subsequent work of the Black Panther Party and the Student National Coordinating Committee. Through education, Black August provides an opportunity to study the black liberation movement and its attempt to destroy slavery and racism.  Website:  facebook.com/events/349700285135172/

Date and Time TBA
Happily Natural Day
http://happilynaturalday.com/