This February, soak up Black History Month Facts for Kids to help children understand how Black History Month came into existence and what’s the significance behind it.
Learning about Black History Month facts & its history will help children embrace inclusion, appreciate diversity and embody the central idea behind this month long celebration.
A great addition to your morning classroom routine and Black History Month celebrations, these historical facts will bring to light the lesser known details of this historic celebration.
Interesting Black History Month Facts for Kids
1. The Harlem Renaissance Cultural Movement came into existence before the Black History Month.
Before the Black History Month, the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement was started in the 1920’s, to highlight Black achievements in art, literature, and music. This paved the way for the advent of Negro History Week in 1926.
2. Negro History Week preceded the evolution of Black History Month.
This whole idea of celebrating Black history & achievements, started in the United States as Negro History Week in 1926.
It was created by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, to honour important people and events in Black history, which later evolved into a month long celebrations. This serves as a reminder to ensure fairness, equality, respect and kindness towards all human beings.
3. Negro History Week became Black History Month in 1970.
Over the years, the week-long observance of Negro History week, grew in popularity. So, in 1970, it got expanded to a month.
The first Black History Month was celebrated at Kent State University in February 1970 and was initiated by Black educators and the Black United Students group.
3. Official declaration of Black History Month happened in 1976.
From 1970, Black History Month was celebrated every year. However, it was only in 1976, this was recognised as a national event. In 1976, during the United States’ Bicentennial, President Gerald Ford officially recognised BHM.
4. Carter G. Woodson, is known as the Father of Black History.
Carter G. Woodson initially founded the ASALH- Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.
It is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the history, culture, and contributions of African-Americans. The ASALH is responsible for conducting the ongoing celebration of BHM.
Quick Tip: Pair these facts with Black History Month Activities for Kids.
5. Black History Month has a theme each year.
Every year, Black History Month has a specific theme. The ASALH selects these themes to focus on a particular aspect of Black history, culture, or societal contribution. For example, the 2024 theme was “Black Resistance”, highlighting efforts to challenge racial oppression. For 2025, the theme is “African Americans and Labor”.
6. Significance of February.
The choice of February to celebrate this is not random. It acknowledges key historical events related to Black history, including the establishment of the NAACP on February 12,1909, which aligns closely with Frederick Douglass’s chosen birthday on February 14, and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12.
7. The NAACP and Frederick Douglass had major contributions in Black rights.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is a civil rights organization founded in 1909 with the mission to eliminate race-based discrimination.
Douglass was a former enslaved person who became a leading figure in advocating for the end of slavery and the rights of African Americans.
8. Many other countries have joined the movement.
Black History Month is observed in other countries as well. In Canada, it is celebrated during February like in the US. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is celebrated in the month of October.
Likewise, Germany, Netherlands, France, Brazil, and South Africa, join hands with many movements, for supporting Blacks, even though they don’t officially celebrate BHM.
9. Significance of 2009 Black History Month.
The Black History Month of 2009 is considered to be the most popular and celebrated one, because of the election and inauguration of Barack Obama. He became the first Black President of the United States. It highlighted the progress of African Americans, which made 2009 historic.
10. Interracial marriages became legal in 1967.
Thanks to Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, who fought their way to make inter-racial marriages legal. Richard Loving was a white man and Mildred Jeter a native American and their interracial marriage was considered against law in their home state Virginia.
The Supreme Court later on ruled in favour of the couple on June 12th, 1967, marking a historical event. Every year, June 12th is celebrated as ‘Loving Day’ to honor the milestone.
11. William Tucker was the first African person born in America.
The birth of William Tucker in 1624, near Jamestown, Virginia in the then 13 British colonies marked the beginnings of African-American ancestry.
12. Thomas Jefferson condemned slavery and included indigenous people, blacks & Native-Americans in his original draft for Declaration of Independence.
However, his draft was edited and his ideas pertaining to ending slavery & including native people & tribes were removed much to his disapproval & unhappiness.
Related: Dive into 4th of July Facts to learn more!
13. Freedom’s Journal was the first African-American owned newspaper in the United States.
It was founded by John Brown & Samuel Eli Cornish on March 16, 1827, at 5 Varick Street in Lower Manhattan, New York and voiced ideas to make black lives better. Its subscriptions reached Canada and even the United Kingdom.
14. Provident Hospital was the first black-owned hospital in the United States of America.
Founded in 1891, it was also the first hospital in America to have interracial staff and the first to provide training facilities to nurses of African-American descent.
15. Shirley Chisholm was the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination in 1972.
She was also the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in November 1968.
16. Claudette Colvin was the first Black woman who refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama.
Though Rosa Parks is often cited as the first black woman who stood up for her right on the bus seat, it was Claudette Colvin in 1955 who first objected to discrimination and the first to be arrested for asserting equal rights.
17. Marian Anderson was the first African-American to perform at Metropolitan Opera in 1955.
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Marian Anderson proudly represented black people and voiced for their rights through her music.
18. Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American to Publish a book of poems.
Wheatley never received any formal education and yet was the first black poet to publish a collection of poems titled ‘Poems of Various Subjects’.
19. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. served as the first Black General in the U.S Army.
20. Bessie Coleman was the first African-American woman to get a pilot license.
Being denied entry in American aviation colleges at that time in the 1920s, she moved to France to learn to fly & get her licence.
21. W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African-American to earn a PhD from Harvard University.
A prominent American sociologist and social reformer, W.E.B. Du Bois played a significant role in black activism and is widely known for his essays ‘The Souls of Black Folk’
22. Guion S. Bluford became the first African-American to travel to space in 1983.
He completed 688 hours in space and was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.
23. Ella Fitzgerald became the first black person to win a Grammy award in 1958.
24. Georgia Ann Robinson became the first African-American woman police officer.
Appointed by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1916, she worked as a jail matron and later on juvenile and homicide cases.
25. Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker was the first black to play Major League Baseball in 1884.
26. Dr. Charles Hamilton Houston became the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review in 1922.
27. Constance Baker Mostly became the first African-American woman to be appointed a federal judge in 1966.
28. Joseph Rainey was the first black person to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
29. Ruth Simmons is the first black woman to become the president of an Ivy League institute.
She was appointed the president of Brown University in 2001.
30. Ralph Johnson Bunche was the first black person to receive the Nobel Prize.
The African-American diplomat received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1950 for his mediation in Israel.
31. Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar Award.
She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in the movie “Gone With The Wind.”
32. Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Grand Slam.
She won the Roland Garros title in 1956, making history. She won a total of 11 grand slam titles.
33. Dr Mae Jemison became the first African American woman astronaut.
She served as a NASA astronaut for six years and was the first black woman to go into space.
34.Barack Obama was the first black man to be elected the President of United States of America.
He was elected for the office in 2009 and went on to serve two consecutive terms from 2009 to 2017.
35. Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first black woman to earn a medical degree.
Black History Month Facts
