The Equity Report #4: The 100th Anniversary of Black History Month: From Negro History Week to a Global Framework for Historical Justice

This equity report essay examines the 100-year evolution of Black History Month, tracing its origins from Negro History Week in 1926 to its contemporary global observance. Founded by Carter G. Woodson as a corrective to the systematic erasure of Black people from dominant historical narratives, Negro History Week functioned as a political and educational intervention rather than a symbolic celebration. The essay analyzes how the expansion to Black History Month in 1976 marked both increased institutional recognition and the risk of containment, wherein historical inclusion substitutes for structural transformation. Drawing on equity frameworks, the essay distinguishes between representation and redistribution, arguing that visibility without shifts in power, resources, and curricular authority reproduces historical inequities. It further situates Black History Month within a transnational context shaped by colonialism and racial capitalism, while addressing contemporary backlash against Ethnic Studies and historical truth. The essay concludes that the centennial of Black History Month underscores unfinished work, calling for an equity-centered approach that embeds Black history as foundational to education, policy, and cultural production rather than confined to a designated timeframe.

—Telisa Nyoka King, M.A.