Celebrating Black History Month 2021

Since 1976 February has been designated as Black History Month in the United States to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and their contributions to the history of the United States. The beginnings of this annual celebration go back to 1926, when through the efforts of Carter G. Woodson, Negro History Week was established and sponsored by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). It was observed annually, the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14). Today Black History Month is sponsored by the same organization, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which chooses an annual theme. In 2021, its 95th year, the theme for Black History Month is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, Diversity. For more information on ASALH and its activities, visit www.asalh.org.

If you would like to learn more, ProQuest created the  Black Freedom Struggle website, featuring expertly selected open primary source documents that they have made available to library patrons for free. 

Click on the images below for reading suggestions curated by our librarians. You can place a hold online or call the reference desk to speak with a librarian 914-769-0548.