It was fifty years after the abolishment of slavery (Thirteenth Amendment) that Carter G. Woodson, a scholar and historian, along with minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). The year was 1915 and the organization was dedicated to the research, advocacy, and promotion of black Americans and people of African descent and their achievements, triumphs, and struggles.

 

In 1926 the organization spearheaded national Negro History Week that was held the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This sparked local schools and communities on a national scale to create their own programs to honor and celebrate the contributions of African Americans.

 

The year was 1976 when President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month.

 

 

Freedom Rides - On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. READ MORE

 

Lift Every Voice and Sing was first written as a poem. Created by James Weldon Johson, it was first sung by 500 school children on February 12, 1800 in celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. His brother, John Rosamond, arranged it to music and the song was adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as their official song.

 

The song is referred to as the Black National Anthem. READ MORE

 

Sojourner Truth was a prominent abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Born a slave in New York State, she had at least three of her children sold away from her. After escaping slavery, Truth embraced evangelical religion and became involved in moral reform and abolitionist work. She collected supplies for black regiments during the Civil War and immersed herself in advocating for freedpeople during the Reconstruction period. READ MORE

 

Denver’s Historic Five Points was known as the “Harlem of the West” and was the center for live jazz music in the 40’s and 50’s. During segregation, Five Points was the heart of African American commerce and entertainment at clubs such as the Rossonian Hotel, where Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and other legends played. The community can be dated back to pioneer miners, cowboys and railroaders. READ MORE

 

The Black American West Museum and Heritage Center was founded by Paul W. Stewart in 1971 dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating the contributions of Blacks in the Old West. The museum is located in Denver, CO in the Historic Five Points in the home of Justina L. Ford, M.D, Colorado’s first Black woman doctor who settled in Denver in 1902. READ MORE

 

In honor of Black History Month, the Lamont School of Music will be presenting an evening of African American Spirituals for a two-hour concert.

 
Gates Concert Hall
Newman Center for the Performing Arts
2344 E. Iliff Ave
Denver, CO 80208
www.du.edu

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3091 California St.
Denver, CO 80205
(720) 242-7428
www.blackamericanwestmuseum.org

2607 Glenarm Place
Denver, CO 80205
(303) 294-0597
www.stilesheritagecenter.org

Barney Ford House Museum
111 Washington Ave.
Breckinridge, CO 80424
(970) 453-9767
www.breckheritage.com

Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library
2401 Welton St.
Denver, CO 80205
(720) 865-2401
www.history.denverlibrary.org/blair

Whether you go down to Welton street in Denver and patron shops and look at its beautiful architecture or travel out of town and visit the MLK memorial in West Potamic Park at our nations capitol, there are so many ways to learn about and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans.