February comes to an end in a few days, and along with it goes what we acknowledge as Black History Month. This has been one of the most controversial months in connection to Black History Month to date, due to events like Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime show and Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Grammys. These events have sparked some intense dialogue this month, but as the month comes to an end, I hope the conversation doesn’t end. Black History Month reflects on the achievements of African Americans and also celebrates Black leaders, both past and present. As I celebrate Black History Month, I leave you with five Black History Month facts and accomplishments that occurred in February, along with Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem “Bury Me in a Free Land."
- Black History Month was originally called “Negro History Week." It was first celebrated on Feb. 1, 1926 by Dr Carter G. Woodson, who wanted to bring awareness to the contributions of Black people throughout American history. Black History Month, as we know it, only became a month long celebration in 1976.
- The 15th Amendment was passed in February 3, 1870, which granted blacks the right to vote. Section 1 of the Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which was led by W.E.B DuBois was founded on February 12, 1909 in New York City by a group of concerned Black and White citizens.
- Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi became the first Black U.S. senator. He took his oath of office on February 25, 1870. During Reconstruction, 16 Blacks served in Congress, and about 600 served in states legislatures.
- On February 8, 1986, Oprah Winfrey became the first African American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show.
Bury Me in a Free Land
Make me a grave where’er you will,
In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill;
Make it among earth’s humblest graves,
But not in a land where men are slaves.
I could not rest if around my grave
I heard the steps of a trembling slave;
His shadow above my silent tomb
Would make it a place of fearful gloom.
I could not rest if I heard the tread
Of a coffle gang to the shambles led,
And the mother’s shriek of wild despair
Rise like a curse on the trembling air.
I could not sleep if I saw the lash
Drinking her blood at each fearful gash,
And I saw her babes torn from her breast,
Like trembling doves from their parent nest.
I’d shudder and start if I heard the bay
Of bloodhounds seizing their human prey,
And I heard the captive plead in vain
As they bound afresh his galling chain.
If I saw young girls from their mother’s arms
Bartered and sold for their youthful charms,
My eye would flash with a mournful flame,
My death-paled cheek grow red with shame.
I would sleep, dear friends, where bloated might
Can rob no man of his dearest right;
My rest shall be calm in any grave
Where none can call his brother a slave.
I ask no monument, proud and high,
To arrest the gaze of the passers-by;
All that my yearning spirit craves,
Is bury me not in a land of slaves.
-Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
