Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements and accomplishments by African-Americans, it starts Febuary 1st and ends on Febuary 28th/29th.
BHM is also celebrated here in Santa Clarita as well as the Hart district as a whole. The district is set to put its third annual Black History art show at 6 pm in the district board room.
President Gerald Ford officially recognized the Black History Month in 1976 and has been celebrated ever since. It is celebrated in Febuary , since President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is in Febuary and his most famous goal was him decelaring slavery illegal. An example of a black hero is Martin Luther King Jr. He was born on Januray 15th, 1929 almost a century from now. MLK was a proud civil rights activist that constantly fought for equal rights to all black people. On August of 1963, he went to the Washington Monument to give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Unfortunately, 5 years later he was assassinated at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. He left an impact on the world that no matter the color of your skin you are the same as everyone else.
Another important figure was Harriet Tubman, she was born during the early 1800’s when slavery was still legal. Tubman was born into slavery and constantly tried to resist her masters orders. Due to this she was hit with a two-pound weight at a young age which left her with permanent headaches. She did not give up though and kept persevering and eventualy escaped through the network of tunnels called the Underground Railroad. Even though she could’ve easily escaped and never gone back to the South, she decided to help other slaves make their way to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Black History Month is also being supported here at Rio Norte. If you go into the library there is a big Black History Month banner is at the back of the library. Mrs. August, the vice prinicpal at Rio Norte, says that “It’s a good way to recognize the achievements and history of African-Americans.”
Overall, Black History Month is a good way to recognize the accomplishments of the African-American community.