Black History Month

How did Black History Month Begin?

I am proud to be a part of Black History Month. I wanted to lend my voice and blog to lift up the African American Heritage Month. Each week for the month of February, I will be doing a tribute blog on a African American Movie Star!  Having said that, I am so happy that I am  alive and be part of history to see the first African American President, Barack Obama. I was wondering to myself, how did black history month begin? I felt compelled to find out this information for my readers. After extensive research, I discovered that Black history begun in 1926.  In 1915 Dr. Carter G. Woodson and Rev. Jesse E. Moorland co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Their goal was to research and bring awareness to the largely ignored, yet crucial role black people played in American and world history. The following year, Woodson published and distributed his findings in The Journal of Negro History. He founded the publication with the hope that it would dispel popular mistruths. He also hoped to educate black people about their cultural background and instill them with a sense of pride in their race.

The son of former slaves and the second black person to receive a degree from Harvard University, Carter Woodson understood the value of education. He also felt the importance of preserving one’s heritage and, upon his urgings, the fraternity Omega Psi Phi created Negro History and Literature Week in 1920. In 1926, Woodson changed the name to Negro History Week. He selected the month of February for the celebration as a way to honor of the birth of two men whose actions drastically altered the future of black Americans. Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. President who issued the Emancipation Proclamation was born on February 12th and Frederick Douglass, one of the nation’s leading abolitionists was born on February 14th.

Woodson and the ANSLH provided learning materials to teachers, black history clubs and the community at large. They also published photographs that depicted important figures in black culture, plays that dramatized black history, and reading materials.

Dr. Carter Woodson died in 1950, but his legacy continued on as the celebration of Negro History Week was adopted by cities and organizations across the country. This observance proved especially important during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when the inhumane and unequal treatment of black people in America was being challenged and overturned.

Black History Month is now recognized and widely celebrated by the entire nation on both a scholarly and commercial level. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History continues to promote, preserve and research black history and culture year-round.

Having said all the above…Say it loud I’m Black and I’m Proud!

(In James Brown’s voice).

EARTHA KITT

January 17, 1927 Eartha Kitt was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina. Miss Kitt was ostracized at an early age because of her mixed-race heritage. At eight years old, she was given away by her mother and sent from the South Carolina cotton fields to live with an aunt in Harlem. In New York her distinct individuality and flair for show business manifested itself, and on a friend's dare, the shy teen auditioned for the famed "Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe." She won a spot as a featured dancer and vocalist and before the age of twenty, toured worldwide with the company. During a performance in Paris, Miss Kitt was spotted by a nightclub owner and booked as a featured singer at his club. Her unique persona earned her fans and fame quickly, including Orson Welles, who called her "the most exciting woman in the world". Welles was so taken with her talent that he cast her as Helen of Troy in his fabled production of "Dr. Faust."

Broadway stardom led to a recording contract and a succession of best-selling records including "Love for Sale", "I Want to Be Evil", "Santa Baby" and "Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa", which earned her a Grammy nomination. In 1967, Miss Kitt made an indelible mark on pop culture as the infamous "Catwoman" in the television series, "Batman."   She immediately became synonymous with the role and her trademark growl became imitated worldwide. Singing in ten different languages, Miss Kitt performed in over 100 countries and was honored with a star on "The Hollywood Walk of Fame" in 1960.

Live theater was Miss Kitt's passion. On January 17 2007, Miss Kitt held a celebratory concert in honor of her 80th birthday at Carnegie Hall with a, JVC Jazz called "Eartha Kitt And Friends." One of my favorite characters that Eartha Kitt played was, cosmetics legend Lady Eloise, in director Reginald Hudlin’s 1992 movie, Boomerang, right, but especially the dinner sequence with advertising executive Marcus Graham, played by Eddie Murphy.

December 25, 2008, Eartha Kitt passed in Connecticut, at the age of 81, she’d spent over 60 years in show business, making indelible, absolutely unique and unforgettable impressions. Her outstanding vocals along with her curvaceous frame will forever be cherished for generations to come.

We miss you Eartha Kitt  January 17, 1927 -  December 25, 2008