Ansonia pastor highlights importance of celebrating Black History Month

By Rev. Michael D. Jenkins

As we begin the month of February let us focus on God’s creation for all people. 

MLK Day was celebrated on January 16, which is now a National Day of Remembrance of the work by a civil rights leader, father, husband, son, and pastor. 

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has made it very eloquently clear that “God created the world with hope that man would live in righteousness and in accord with his will. However, he did not force righteousness on man; rather he gave him free will." 

National Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all Black people from throughout U.S. history, from enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the 17^th century to African Americans living in the U.S. today. 

What is National Black History Month and why is it important? Each February, it serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history. Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America - our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations.

 

American historian, author, and journalist Carter Godwin Woodson, whose work led to the celebration of Negro History Week. 

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926, when the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History declared the second week of February as "Negro History Week" to recognize the contributions of Black Americans to U.S. history.

Frustrated by the lack of awareness of the Black community's accomplishments, historian Carter Godwin Woodson - known as the "Father of Black History" and the son of former slaves - along with other activists and civic leaders founded the Association. 

Now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, it created research and publication outlets for Black scholars, including the Journal of Negro History and the Negro History Bulletin.

"If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated," Woodson wrote in the Journal of Negro History in 1926. 

Let us always remember that all people are important in the eyes of our creator. Selah!

Rev. Michael D. Jenkins is pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Ansonia.