Black History Month

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Date: Sat Feb 01, 12:00 AM EDT - Sat Feb 01, 11:59 PM EDT

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025

In 1915, Harvard-educated historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse Moorland founded what’s now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. That organization established Negro History Week in 1926 and worked to inspire schools and communities to organize local celebrations and host performances and lectures.

Negro History Week was the second week of February, to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Lincoln, of course, was the 16th U.S. president and paved the way for the abolition of slavery with his Emancipation Proclamation. Douglass was an escaped slave turned activist and author, and a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement to end slavery.

A Week Becomes a Month. The civil rights movement of the 1960s helped elevate Negro History Week to national prominence… and turn it into a month-long celebration. As a result, in 1976, President Gerald Ford made things official, proclaiming February to be Black History Month.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MISS BAZOLINE USHER? Bazoline Estelle Usher (December 26, 1885 – February 8, 1992) was an American educator known for her work in the Atlanta Public Schools. As director of education for African-American children in the district prior to integration, she was the first African American to have an office at Atlanta City Hall. She founded the first Girl Scout troops for African-American girls in Atlanta in 1943**. Miss Usher’s career as an educator lasted over 50 years, over 40 of which were in the Atlanta schools.(She lived to be 106!) A school in Atlanta is named for her, and in 2014 she was posthumously named a Georgia Woman of Achievement.

** In 1972, Frances (Gibby) Satterfield, who worked with Miss Usher to bring Girl Scouting to Atlanta’s African American community, wrote “The Remarkable Miss Usher” for the Atlanta Constitution: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22895574/the-remarkable-miss-usher-page-45/ . On Miss Usher’s 100th birthday, The Atlanta Constitution printed this article: https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id . Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta’s History and Archives Committee has more information on Bazoline Usher, Phyllis Dews, and the other pioneers who integrated the old Atlanta Girl Scout Council, which served Fulton and DeKalb Counties.

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (AND GIRL SCOUTS) CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH
During Black History Month and throughout the year, you can discover more than 400 years of Black history and heritage in national parks and communities. There are special places, historic moments, and personal journeys that can help us have conversations about Black representation, identity, and diversity in our nation’s history and today. Two sites in Georgia are:
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park (Location: Atlanta, GA)
https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

A young boy grows up in a time of segregation…A dreamer is moved by destiny into leadership of the modern civil rights movement…This was Martin Luther King, Jr. Walk in his footsteps, and hear his voice in the church where he moved hearts and minds. Marvel at how he was an instrument for social change.

Arabia Mountain Heritage Area (Location: Lithonia, GA) https://arabiaalliance.org/places-to-see/flat-rock-archives/. The Flat Rock African American community is part of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. there are several locations that hold the stories of this important community, including the Flat Rock Archives which specializes in preserving African American rural history in the South. It archives house papers, letters, and artifacts.

Join Johnny Waits, President and Co-Founder of the Archives and a descendant of one of DeKalb County’s oldest families, leads a guided tour through a history of the traditionally African-American community, stopping at historic sites including the Lyon Farm, historic Flat Rock Church site, and the Flat Rock African American Historical Cemetery (which was used from the days of slavery into the 1950s). If you are interested in taking a socially distanced, mask-wearing tour, call Johnny at 770-885-8330 or email: flatrockarchives@mail.com.

* Girl Scout Ranger Program: The National Park Service and Girl Scouts of the USA have partnered to create the Girl Scout Ranger Program. Girl Scouts are invited to participate in a variety of existing, organized educational or service projects at national park sites, especially during Black History Month, or design their own experience or project to align with related Journey work, badge activities, or a Take Action or Highest Award project. For details, including how to earn a Girl Scout Ranger Certificate or Patch, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/youthprograms/girlscoutranger.htm

MORE SITES TO EXPLORE:
Learn about the best places for families to experience African-American history: https://www.exploregeorgia.org/things-to-do/list/best-places-for-families-to-experience-african-american-history

Georgia’s “Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr” Trail: https://www.exploregeorgia.org/itinerary/georgias-footsteps-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-trail
The APEX Museum in Atlanta interprets and presents history from an African American perspective: https://www.apexmuseum.org/
The Tubman Museum in Macon is the largest museum in the nation dedicated to educating people about the Art, History and Culture of African Americans: https://www.tubmanmuseum.com/ .

The Roland Hayes Museum, a division of the Calhoun Gordon Arts Council in Calhoun, honors the life and musical artistry of tenor Roland Hayes (1887-1977) who was born near Calhoun. A gifted teno, Roland Hayes went on to sing with the famed Fisk Jubilee Singers as a young man and to achieve an international concert career.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PATCHES: You can order council-created Black History Month patches through the Girl Scouts of the USA Shop at: https://www.girlscoutshop.com/search?keywords=Black%20History%20Month