Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" Speech | Black History Month
Today is February 1, 2019 which marks the first day of Black History in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It began as a way for remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February, as well as in the United Kingdom. Black History Month is celebrated in the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland in October. (Martin L. King, Jr, "I Have a Dream" speech) Negro History Week (1926) The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week". This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12th and of Frederick Douglas on February 14, both of which dates black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century. (Ca