Black History Month is about honoring the fullness of our history, not just the parts that are convenient or widely known. That means recognizing the Black trans people who have always been here, shaping culture, politics, and resistance, even when history books tries to erase them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too often, conversations about Black history center on cisgender men while leaving out the women, queer folks, and trans people who built movements and redefined what liberation looks like. Black trans people are Black history, and this month, we make sure that truth is undeniable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide isn\u2019t just a celebration. It\u2019s a reclamation. Let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson<\/a> and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History<\/a> (ASNLH) announced the second week of February to be \u201cNegro History Week\u201d. This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12th and that of Frederick Douglass on February 14th, dates which Black communities had celebrated since the late 19th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of Negro History Week\u2019s launch, Woodson emphasized that the teaching of Black History was essential<\/a> to ensure the physical and intellectual survival of the race within broader society:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the 1960s, Negro History Week had expanded into what we now celebrate as Black History Month, thanks to Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University, who initiated the first Black History Month in February 1970. In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized it, urging Americans to honor the “too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Black community, Black History Month prompted the creation of Black history clubs<\/a>, an increase in interest among teachers, and interest from non-Black allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBlack History Month: Brought to you by Black Scholars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n