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Why Black History Month?
This month Fork Union Military Academy cadets are learning about Black History Month. Each day, during morning announcements cadets and faculty have been reading different excerpts on famous black leaders and individuals who have influenced American history.
Black History Month was brought about as an effort to disperse information about the accomplishments of African-Americans. When I reflect back to my elementary, Jr. high and high school years the black "super heroes" mentioned in text books were normally George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglas, Joe Louis, and Jesse Owens, to name a few. As I began to read additional information outside of the standard textbooks, I discovered an African American heritage rich in the arts, sciences, literature, medicine and the list goes on. Indeed these African-Americans were beacons in the fog of slavery and racism but they were only the tip of the iceberg.
The observance of Black History Month stretches back to 1926 when Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans. The period in February was chosen as it included the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976 this celebration was amplified and observed as a month long event. As recently as January, 2005 I was informed by Coach Fletcher Arritt that Carter G. Woodson's birthplace is just a few miles away from Fork Union in the city of Buckingham.
During the month of February a profile of an African-American that was instrumental in shaping America is read prior to the morning announcements. Their lives form a legacy from which all Americans can draw inspiration and emphasize the fact that we are all joined at the hip.
Did you know?
* George Washington Carver refused to patent any of his 450 inventions
* Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber while escorting them during WWII
* Granville T. Woods invented the traffic signal
* Frederick Johnson invented the self-feeding rifle
* Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful heart surgery
* Selma Burke design the portrait of President D. Roosevelt on the dime
* George Grant invented the Golf Tee
Major Al Williamson
Commandant's Department
Posted by Elizabeth Liles, Friday, February 10, 2006 11:58 AM
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