When people think of racial activists, many people’s thoughts go to Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and Malcom X. There are so many more activists than those three, and February is the month that celebrates them and their accomplishments. Bella Boyum says, “I think it’s important to celebrate Black History Month, so people can be informed about the sacrifices that people before them made, and learn about what Black History Month represents.”

According to the Library of Congress, “In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244, which designated February 1986 as ‘National Black (Afro-American) History Month’.”  Prior to this, a Black History Week was recognized.  “February is the birth month of two figures who loom large in the Black past: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and the African American abolitionist, author, and orator Frederick Douglass,” as found in Britannica. This is why February was designated as Black History Month. “I feel Black History Month celebrates heritage, culture, and all the hard work that people put into having racial equality,” says Isla Harrison

Some of the major abolitionists that are celebrated during February are: Barack Obama who was the first black president of the United States, Harriet Tubman who was a major contributor of freeing slaves via the underground railroad, and, as listed above, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and Malcom X, for their various accomplishments working toward equal rights for African Americans. Though these are some of the biggest names in Black History, there are so many more people who paved the way for equality.  

Though racial equality has come a long way since most of these activists were alive, racism is far from gone, and there are still groups working against it today. Black Lives Matter Foundation is one of the biggest black support groups today. “Black Lives Matter Foundation is an abolition-centered foundation fighting institutional injustice and serving Black people globally,” as reported by Black Lives Matter. Another activist group is The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They “advocate, agitate, and litigate for the civil rights due to Black America,” as found on the NAACP website. 

These associations and many more are working toward the cause of creating full equality for African Americans. They continue to follow in the footsteps of great abolitionists who came before them. The fight for full civil rights equality is far from over, but Black History Month helps contribute to the cause and celebrate those who worked so hard for racial justice.