By ABIGAIL KONIG
Staff Writer
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history. It can also be known as African American History Month and starts February 1st and continues throughout the whole month. The story of Black History Month started in 1915 after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery across the United States and since 1976, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. This year’s 2020 theme is “African Americans and the Vote”. It is honoring the Nineteenth Amendment anniversary, granted in 1920 granting women’s suffrage and giving black men the right to vote. It is important to understand the history behind this month and why it needs to be honored and understood many years later so we as a society can focus on what we need to improve upon to make America a safe place for every single individual.
