On February 11, 1926, black historian, journalist and author Carter G. Woodson declared the second week of February - a week that included both Abraham Lincoln's birthday on the 12th and Frederick Douglass' on the 14th - to be Negro History Week.
Karlos Hill, an assistant professor of history at Texas Tech, said Woodson felt that black history was going unrecognized, and sought to change that.
"Carter G. Woodson, in the 1920s, decided that African-American history needed to be given its proper due. So the idea was to develop a Negro History Week," Hill said.
Negro History Week ultimately evolved into Black History Month, Hill said, as communities and schools began to observe it by hosting lectures and performances on black history - Texas Tech's African-American Month lecture series brought in political commentator Tavis Smiley and activist Angela Davis for 2015's observances.
In 1976, half a century after Woodson's initiation of Negro History Week and during the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations, President Gerald Ford spoke on the expansion, telling Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."
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"So if we fast-forward 50 years later, 1976, the Association for African-American Life and History decided to push for an African-American History Month, and make that a national holiday. So they successfully lobbied Congress, Congress approved this, so now we have African-American History Month."
Mainstream American culture, Hill said, recognizes African-American culture much more than it did in the 1920s, when it was largely ignored or marginalized, and Black History Month played a part in the incorporation.
"For the most part, African-American history in mainstream America was ignored. Whether it was textbooks, whether it was monographs, whether it was pretty much any place, museums where American history was being depicted, African-Americans were left out, and if they were included, they typically were in very marginal roles."
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Despite the success of Tech's lecture series - which has attracted the likes of Koritha Mitchell and Tricia Rose - and Black History Month throughout the years, Hill said resistance to the contributions of African-Americans is still a challenge.
"You would be amazed by how little people still know about African-American history," Hill said, "and secondly, you’d be amazed about how much resistance there is to the idea that African-Americans have made significant contributions to American history."
Which is why the lecture series is so important - Hill says the entire point of the month's lectures is to spark an exchange about race in America at Texas Tech.
"When I developed the idea to create this lecture series, I wanted it to become something that could start conversations on campus," Hill said. "Not just about African-Americans, but about race, race and society, and current affairs around race. So many of the speakers that we have brought in have talked about really hard-hitting issues."
