Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in the month of February. Carter G. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week in 1926 because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Later on in 1976, as the nation reached its bicentennial, the week was expanded into an entire month.
Black History Month is an opportunity to recognize the significant contributions people with African heritage have made and continue to make in such areas as education, sports, medicine, art, culture, public services, politics and human rights.