Happy 100th Birthday to Black History Month
Posted on February 14, 2026
by Megan G
As Woodson explained, Negro History Week was “set aside by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH) for the purpose of emphasizing what has already been learned about the Negro during the year.” The intention was never confinement, but concentration—an annual pause to acknowledge, collect, and amplify a history too often ignored or distorted. Several books that capture and capitulate this folk-ethos—where history, myth, and lived experience meet—include:
roots by Alex Haley
A foundational text that blends genealogy, oral tradition, and historical research to trace lineage from Africa through enslavement and beyond.
barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
The firsthand account of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last known survivors of the transatlantic slave trade, told in his own voice.
beloved by Toni Morrison
A haunting exploration of memory, motherhood, and the psychological afterlives of enslavement, grounded in both history and the supernatural.
the people could fly by Virginia Hamilton
A classic collection of Black American folktales, including the enduring legend of the enslaved who reclaimed flight as freedom.
the souls of black folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
A lyrical and analytical meditation on double consciousness, faith, music, and the spiritual strivings of Black America.
One hundred years after its founding, Black History Month remains exactly what Woodson envisioned: not a limit, but a lens—one that sharpens our understanding of the past while illuminating paths forward.
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