Subject
title
Proclamation Declaring February 2025, as Black History Month in Rockville, Maryland
end
Department
City Clerk/Director of Council Operations Office
Recommendation
Staff recommends Mayor and Council read and approve the proclamation, and present it to Linda Plummer, President of the Montgomery County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Discussion
Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is a tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American Society.
Originating in 1926 from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), founded by historian Carter G. Woodson, the second week of February was declared National Negro History Week to recognize and celebrate African American achievements. The week was selected as the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass fell upon it. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and others stepped forward to endorse the effort.
By 1950, having made substantial progress in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration, with mayors of American cities having issued proclamations noting Negro History Week, Black History Week had become a central part of African American life. The 1960s further expanded the importance of Black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on African Americans’ contributions to our history and culture.
The week-long celebration was later extended to the entire month of February when President Gerald Ford officially recognized it in 1976 as Black History Month (also being referred to as
African American History Month). That same year, fifty years after the first celebration, the ASNLH held their first African American History Month. At that point, the entire nation had recognized the importance of Black history in the American story. Following 1976 and in proceeding years, every American President has issued an African American History Month proclamation. The ASNLH continues to promote Black history to this day.
African American History Month honors and celebrates the many contributions of African Americans in the United States. From pioneers and leaders in history like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Owens, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Mae Jemison, Dr. Charles Drew to many recent notable figures like astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, President Barack Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, youth poet laurate Amanda Gorman, Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, and even Maryland’s first African American Governor, Wes Moore, and first African American Senator, Angela Alsobrooks.
This honorary month has also extended outside the United States as well, with nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, and even several countries in Africa celebrating their own Black History Month.
Here in the City of Rockville, African Americans have and continue to make valuable contributions to our community through determination, hard work, intelligence, and perseverance, achieving success in business, education, politics, science, and the arts. During the month of February, everyone is encouraged to reflect on the past and present successes and challenges of African Americans, participate in events that celebrate the month, and share and appreciate the many stories that are told.
Mayor and Council History
Mayor and Council present this proclamation annually.