[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2920]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN COMMEMORATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 4, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
this 33rd Black History Month, a month that celebrates Black history 
with a view to its promotion, preservation and research.
  Black History Month has grown as a celebration of Black history and 
culture over many decades. At the urging of historian Carter Woodson, 
the second African American to receive a degree from Harvard 
University, the fraternity Omega Psi Phi first created Negro History 
and Literature Week in 1920. In 1926, Woodson changed Negro History and 
Literature Week to Negro History Week, and chose the second week of 
February for its celebration in order to honor the births of President 
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two men who had a profound 
influence in the fight for equality for African Americans.
  Although Woodson died in 1950, his legacy continued. In the early 
1970s, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now 
called the Association for the Study of African American Life and 
History, changed Negro History Week to Black History Week. In 1976, 
they extended the week to a month-long observance.
  Since its earliest origins, Black History Month has made a 
significant contribution to the promotion, preservation and research of 
Black history. When the tradition of Black History Month first began, 
Black history had barely been explored by mainstream academia. Although 
much work remains to complete our understanding of African-American 
culture, our understanding is vastly improved. This has contributed to 
both an increased sense of racial pride among African-Americans and an 
increased appreciation of African-American culture among non-White 
Americans.
  Madam Speaker, these and other continued improvements are essential 
to addressing the inequalities, which continue to affect African-
Americans. For these reasons, I am extremely pleased to commemorate 
Black History Month and encourage my colleagues to join me in doing so 
as well.

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