The Origins of Black History Month

The Origins of Black History Month The origins of Black History Month lay in early 20th-century historian Carter G. Woodsons desire to spotlight the accomplishments of African Americans. Mainstream historians left out African Americans from the narrative of American history up until the 1960s, and Woodson worked his entire career to correct this blinding oversight. His creation of Negro History Week in 1926 paved the way for the establishment of Black History Month in 1976. Negro History Week In 1915, Woodson helped found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (today known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History or ASALH). The idea for an organization devoted to black history came to Woodson as he was discussing the release of the racist film The Birth of a Nation. Discussing it with a group of African-American men at a YMCA in Chicago, Woodson convinced the group that African Americans needed an organization that would strive for a balanced history. The organization began publishing its flagship journal- The Journal of Negro History- in 1916, and ten years later, Woodson came up with the plan for a week of activities and commemorations devoted to African-American history. Woodson chose the week of February 7, 1926, for the first Negro History Week because it included the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12), celebrated for the Emancipation Proclamation that freed many American slaves, and abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14). Woodson hoped that Negro History Week would encourage better relations between blacks and whites in the United States as well as inspire young African Americans to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of their ancestors. In The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), Woodson lamented, Of the hundreds of Negro high schools recently examined by an expert in the United States Bureau of Education only eighteen offer a course taking up the history of the Negro, and in most of the Negro colleges and universities where the Negro is thought of, the race is studied only as a problem or dismissed as of little consequence. Thanks to Negro History Week, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History began to receive requests for more accessible articles. As a result, in 1937 the organization began publishing the Negro History Bulletin aimed at African-American teachers who wanted to incorporate black history into their lessons. Black History Month African Americans quickly took up Negro History Week, and by the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, American educators, both white and black, were observing Negro History Week. At the same time, mainstream historians had begun to expand the American historical narrative to include African Americans (as well as women and other previously ignored groups). In 1976, as the US was celebrating its bicentennial, the ASALH expanded the traditional week-long celebration of African-American history to a month, and Black History Month was born. That same year, President Gerald Ford urged Americans to observe Black History Month, but it was President Carter who officially recognized Black History Month in 1978. With the federal governments blessing, Black History Month became a regular event in American schools. By the opening decade of the 21st century, however, some were questioning whether Black History Month should be continued, especially after the election of the nations first African-American president, Barack Obama, in 2008. For instance, in a 2009 article, commentator Byron Williams suggested that Black History Month had become trite, stale, and pedestrian rather than informative and thought provoking and served only to relegate the achievements of African Americans to an adjunct status in American history. But others continue to argue that the need for Black History Month has not disappeared. Historian Matthew C. Whitaker observed in 2009, Black History Month, therefore, will never be obsolete. It will always be in our best interest to pause and explore the meaning of freedom through the lived experiences of a people who forced America to be true to its creed and reaffirmed the American dream. Those who would eliminate Black History Month often miss the point. Woodson would no doubt be pleased by the expansion of the original Negro History Week. His goal in creating Negro History Week was to highlight African-American accomplishments alongside white American accomplishments. Woodson asserted in The Story of the Negro Retold (1935) that the book is not so much that of Negro history as it is universal history. For Woodson, Negro History Week was about teaching the contributions of all Americans and correcting a national historical narrative that he felt was little more than racist propaganda. Sources Carter G. Woodson: Father of Black History. Ebony. Vol. 59, no. 4 (February 2004): 20, 108-110.Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo. The early Black history movement, Carter G. Woodson, and Lorenzo Johnston Greene. Champaign, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 2007.Mayes, Keith A. Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition. New York: Taylor Francis, 2009.Whitaker, Matthew C. Black History Month Still Relevant for US. The Arizona Republic. 22 February 2009. Available online: azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/2009/02/21/20090221whitaker22-vi p.htmlWoodson, Carter G. The Mis-Education of the Negro. 1933. Available online: http://historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/misedne.html.__________. The Story of the Negro Retold. The Associated Publishers, Inc., 1959.

Battle of Fort Henry in the Civil War

Battle of Fort Henry in the Civil War The Battle of Fort Henry took place February 6, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and was one of the first actions of  Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grants campaign in Tennessee. With the start of the Civil War, Kentucky declared neutrality and stated it would align against the first side to violate its territory. This occurred on September 3, 1861, when Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk directed troops under Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow to occupy Columbus, KY on the Mississippi River. Responding to the Confederate incursion, Grant took the initiative and dispatched Union troops to secure Paducah, KY at the mouth of the Tennessee River two days later.   A Wide Front As events were unfolding in Kentucky, General Albert Sidney Johnston received orders on September 10 to assume command of all Confederate forces in the west. This required him to defend a line extending from the Appalachian Mountains west to the frontier. Lacking sufficient troops to hold the entirety of this distance, Johnston was compelled to disperse his men into smaller armies and attempt to defend those areas through which Union troops were likely to advance. This cordon defense saw him order Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer to hold the area around the Cumberland Gap in the east with 4,000 men while in the west, Major General Sterling Price defended Missouri with 10,000 men. The center of the line was held by Polks large command which, due to Kentuckys neutrality earlier in the year, was based closer to the Mississippi. To the north, an additional 4,000 men led by Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner held Bowling Green, KY. To further protect central Tennessee, construction of two forts had commenced earlier in 1861. These were Forts Henry and Donelson which guarded the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers respectively. The locations for the forts were determined by Brigadier General Daniel S. Donelson and while the placement for the fort bearing his name was sound, his choice for Fort Henry left much to be desired. Construction of Fort Henry An area of low, swampy ground, the location of Fort Henry provided a clear field of fire for two miles down the river but was dominated by hills on the far shore. Though many officers opposed the location, construction on the five-sided fort began with slaves and the 10th Tennessee Infantry providing the labor. By July 1861, guns were being mounted in the forts walls with eleven covering the river and six protecting the landward approaches. Named  for Tennessee Senator Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr., Johnston had desired to give command of the forts to Brigadier General Alexander P. Stewart but was overruled by Confederate President Jefferson Davis who instead selected Maryland native Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman in December.  Assuming his post, Tilghman saw Fort Henry reinforced with a smaller fortification, Fort Heiman, which was constructed on the opposite bank. In addition, efforts were made to place torpedoes (naval mines) in the shipping channel near the fort. Armies Commanders Union Brigadier General Ulysses S. GrantFlag Officer Andrew Foote15,000 men7 ships Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman3,000-3,400 Grant and Foote Move As the Confederates worked to complete the forts, Union commanders in the west were under pressure from President Abraham Lincoln to take offensive action. While Brigadier General George H. Thomas defeated Zollicoffer at the Battle of Mills Springs in January 1862, Grant was able to secure permission for a thrust up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Advancing with around 15,000 men in two divisions led Brigadier Generals John McClernand and Charles F. Smith, Grant was supported by Flag Officer Andrew Footes Western Flotilla of four ironclads and three timberclads (wooden warships). A Swift Victory Pressing up the river, Grant and Foote elected to strike at Fort Henry first. Arriving in the vicinity on February 4, Union forces began going ashore with McClernands division landing north of Fort Henry while Smiths men landed on the western shore to neutralize Fort Heiman. As Grant moved forward, Tilghmans position had become tenuous due to the forts poor location. When the river was at normal levels, the forts walls stood around twenty feet high, but heavy rains had led water levels to rise dramatically flooding the fort. As a result, only nine of the forts seventeen guns were usable. Realizing that the fort could not be held, Tilghman ordered Colonel Adolphus Heiman to lead the bulk of the garrison to the east to Fort Donelson and abandoned Fort Heiman. By February 5, only a party of gunners and Tilghman remained. Approaching Fort Henry the next day, Footes gunboats advanced with the ironclads in the lead. Opening fire, they exchanged shots with the Confederates for around seventy-five minutes. In the fighting, only USS Essex suffered meaningful damage when a shot hit its boiler as the low trajectory of the Confederate fire played into the strength of the Union gunboats armor. Aftermath With the Union gunboats closing and his fire largely ineffective, Tilghman decided to surrender the fort. Due to the flooded nature of the fort, a boat from the fleet was able to row directly into the fort to take Tilghman to USS Cincinnati. A boost to Union morale, the capture of Fort Henry saw Grant capture 94 men. Confederate losses in the fighting numbered around 15 killed and 20 wounded. Union casualties totaled around 40, with the majority aboard USS Essex. The capture of the fort opened the Tennessee River to Union warships. Quickly taking advantage, Foote dispatched his three timberclads to raid upstream. Gathering his forces, Grant began moving his army the twelve miles to Fort Donelson on February 12. Over the next several days, Grant won the Battle of Fort Donelson and capturing over 12,000 Confederates. The twin defeats at Forts Henry and Donelson knocked a gaping hole in Johnstons defensive line and opened Tennessee to Union invasion. Large-scale fighting would resume in April when Johnston attacked Grant at the Battle of Shiloh.