Guide: Honoring Black History Month

Every February, Black History Month is celebrated in the United States. The month commemorates the contributions and achievements of Black people in the United States. 2026 marks 100 years of national commemorations of Black history. The annual celebration emerged from a 1926 event hosted by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) called Negro History week. The honorary week was held the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The popularity of the event grew and spread across the nation with the Black liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s bringing ideas of Black identity to the forefront of the US political landscape. In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized the month of February as Black History Month. Each year the ASALH picks a theme for Black History Month celebrations. The 2026 theme is “A Century of Black History Commemorations.”