What is Black History Month? It is the annual commemoration of the contributions of African Americans and recognition of their significant role in the development of world history. Each country celebrates it by recovering part of its own history to better understand its present and future. Are you ready to get to know Black History Month?
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Black people
Communicate a healthy, prosperous lifestyle while supporting the black community by applying black people photos to your creative projects. Poster design, web pages, and social media posts will benefit greatly from the use of ethnically diverse photography.
Freedom
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This collection of African American photos is a profound visual journey that encapsulates narratives and emotions. Craft impactful presentations, enhance projects, and enrich social media with these compelling images.
Black power
Explore these Black Power photos, a dynamic visual tribute to the enduring spirit of the Black Power movement. Each image resonates with strength and conviction. Integrate these empowering photos into your projects.
Black History Month banners
If you want to stand out, do it right. Use these banners with the look and feel of Black History Month. Give color and a bit of history to your website. Commemorate the lives of those who moved us forward.
Black History Month posters
Black History Month is starting, so don’t get left behind and find the perfect poster to celebrate the freedom of African American people. Let’s tell the story of an entire society that fought for equality.
Black History Month wallpapers
Explore this vibrant collection of Black History Month wallpapers. They are simply ideal for using in classrooms, social media, workspaces, and as personal inspiration. Download them now and celebrate unity with each design.
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Symbols
Black Power Fist
Heart
Pan African Flag
Africa
The Black Power fist is the most important symbol of Black History Month, because it represents the struggle of African Americans, their strength, and unity for civil rights. This symbol is used by many political movements that want to communicate the same concept, resistance, unity, camaraderie. When the Black Lives Matter movement developed in 2020, protesters incorporated the symbols of black liberation, such as this raised fist that represents an emblem of power and pride. The black fist is best identified with the struggle for civil rights and the revolutionary spirit in America, which is why we identify it with Black History Month.
As we already told you, Black History Month was born to recognize the progress of countries like the United States thanks to the black community, and there are elements that symbolize team spirit. The heart represents the unity of all African-Americans for their rights, and the history of the community, that’s why they usually wear the Pan-African colors. The heart moves each one of us, it circulates our blood and gives us life; as it also moves the activists of the civil rights struggle. It is the symbol of love for others, for equality and represents the greatest movement for equality between blacks and whites.
The Pan African flag is also known as Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, among all we have given it many names. The symbol of the Pan African is a tricolor flag divided into three horizontal stripes of the same size. The colors of the flag are red, black and green, and represent the blood shed by the red color, the black people and green by the lush vegetation of Africa. It was formally adopted by the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) on August 13, 1920 to represent a people spanning the entire world.
Since this movement defends the contributions of the African American community in the United States, it makes sense that the silhouette of the African continent would be used as a symbol of Black History Month. Often, you will see it draped in the Pan African tricolor flag to represent all Black people. The African Diaspora dispersed around the world, but the roots of this community remain closely tied to the African continent, its traditions, culture, music and sense of unity. You can work the silhouette of Africa for your Black History Month designs to better represent the idea of this event.
Imperial Red represents the blood that unites all African ancestry, and that was shed for the liberation of Black people, which is why we use it during Black History Month. Imperial Red represents the damage suffered by the African Diaspora from colonialism to the abolition of slavery. This color is also part of the Pan African flag. In color psychology, Imperial red represents strong emotions, passion, love or sacrifice. It can also mean blood, which is the connotation given to it in the Pan African flag. It is a very striking color and will be the first color your eyes will notice when you come across any design, so be careful. You can combine Imperial Red with other colors such as Cyan Process or Medium Spring Green.
Black History Month begins to commemorate all the effort and work of the African Diaspora for the development of freedoms for the African American community. The Black History Month wants to lift up those feats that do not appear in the pages of history books and highlight how an entire community has suffered and fought against slavery to become a free people. Why is Black History Month in February? How did it begin? There are many questions we ask ourselves about this month and we need to know more about it, are you ready to solve it? Take a look at the most representative facts of this special month.
How started this movement?
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded on February 12, 1909 by a broad interracial group of people who wanted to fight for the civil rights of African Americans. They named themselves The Call. This association arose thanks to 32 African-Americans who joined together to face the challenges to which this minority was being subjected in the United States due to the existing segregation. They held the first conference of the Niagara Movement, which gave birth to the National Negro Committee, which drafted the charter to demand the rights of black people.
When was the first evidence of BHM?
The first Black History Week was established the second week of February because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln (12th February) and Fredirick Douglass (14th February). It was carried out by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), founded by the historian Carter G. Wooddon and the minister Jesse E. Moorland From the beginning, the key was placed on encouraging the teaching of the history of Black Americans in the nation’s public schools. This initiative achieved the participation of the states of North Carolina, Delaware, and West Virginia, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
The first BHM changed our mindset
African American educators and students at Kent State University proposed the Black History Month in February 1969. The first Black History Month took place a year later in this university, from January 2 to February 28, 1970. Two months, really. Six years later, in 1976, the president Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month. Within the black community, this event was received with great enthusiasm and all the schools in the country began to celebrate it as well, which led to the creation of clubs to talk about Black History and very involved teachers.
Black History Month is now an official event
Since Gerald Ford’s 1976 recognition of Black History Month, February has been the month dedicated to telling the story of the black community and how their contributions have changed the world. Black History Month was born out of the need for the entire educational community to know part of their own history as a nation, and for young people to be very aware of all the figures who fought for the liberation of Black people, for the elimination of slavery, segregation between Blacks and whites, for their rights to be recognized and for everyone to have equal freedoms.
Many countries celebrate Black History Month around the world, but with differences among them. Each country commemorates its Black History Month as it likes best, and even in different months. In the UK it is celebrated in October, and in America it is celebrated in February, as we told you before.
In U.S. schools, students and teachers research together the most representative figures of Black History. Each school works in its own way on Black History Month, but always showing students all the contributions and the struggle for civil rights of America’s greatest figures. They sometimes give great speeches about historical characters, read among all “The Green Book of the Negro Motorist” or “To Kill a Mockingbird”, those that represent the segregation and discrimination suffered by Black people. During a month, in American schools, children learn about their history, about civil rights, and why black educators and students needed to show to the world the trajectory of a community as large as the African American people.
Canada recognized Black History Month in December, 1995, when MP Jean Augustine tabled a motion in the House of Commons in Ottawa. Augustine was the first black woman elected to the Canadian Parliament. Since then, Canadians have been commemorating this event in schools, libraries in each district, community centers, etc. Canada celebrates Black History Month in February too, and they hold many events across the country. Concerts and activities for children and parents. Throughout the month of February, the streets of the neighborhoods are filled with the history of Canada, also telling the story of the African Canadians who contributed to the country’s progress. Thanks to this initiative, more and more Canadians are learning about their origins.
UK celebrates its Black History Month in a different way In the UK, Black History Month is different from the US. It was first celebrated in October 1987 to coincide with three major events representing black British history, hence it is celebrated every year in October and not in February as in North America. Initially, the UK focused on black history in the United States, but over time paid greater attention to its own black history and its key figures in the United Kingdom. Characters such as Walter Tull, first black officer to lead white male troops in the British Navy or Olive Morris, social activist star in the activities of Black History Month in museums, schools, residences, etc. All of them deal with the past of the colonies, migration and music. It’s all about learning about history while having a good time with your community.
As in the United Kingdom, Black History Month is also celebrated in Ireland during the month of October. In 2014, Ireland became the fourth country in the world to have a Black History Month, but the whole initiative began in Cork in 2010, when Nigerian-born Zephrynus Okechi Ikeh developed the first Black History Month pilot project with the talk “Africa Empowerment– Working Towards African Unity”. The work of social reformer Fredirick Douglass and emancipation from the slave trade was the focus of the BHM lectures. The work of social reformer Fredirick Douglass and the emancipation of the slave trade was the focus of the BHM conferences. It was in 2014 that it was cemented as a nationwide event, and has since commemorated the work, culture and heritage of the African Diaspora.
Black History Month has roots in Germany too. The celebration began in 1990, and it’s started by members in the Black German organization, ISD or the Initiative of Black Germans (Initiative Schwarze Deutsche). But Germany does not celebrate BHM in October, like the United Kingdom and Ireland, otherwise in February, following the customs of the United States and Canada. In 2001, Germany stopped celebrating Black History Month, but in 2009, the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and the German Federal Agency for Civic Education organized one in Berlin. Ten years later, since 2011, the Black History Month has taken place at the Werkstatt der Kulturen (Workshop of Cultures), which bids for diverse multicultural programming and activities, and every year they return to commemorate the history of the Black people.
In Brazil there doesn’t exist a whole month to celebrate Black History Month, but you can celebrate the Black Awareness Day on November 20th. Since 1960, Brazilians have been commemorating Black Consciousness Day, which at the beginning was celebrated on May 13th, the day slavery was abolished in Brazil, but years later it was moved to the current date due to Zumbi’s death, one of the pioneers of the resistance to slavery. Brazil organizes educational and fun events involving mainly children of African descent. With this day, Brazilians remember the plantation slaves who defended themselves with strength and rebellion against abuses. With the Black Consciousness Day, Brazil wanted to remember the fight against racism and inequalities.
