Black History Month in the US falls in February each year, and this isn't simply down to a coincidence or a random month being selected - it actually has a significant reason.
During February, we reflect on the past and the trials that were overcome by those persecuted due to their skin color and the communities they belonged to. Reflection is an integral part of bettering society, and when looking at the past we learn from individuals who dedicated their today so the world could have a better tomorrow.
But why February? After all, the UK celebrates Black History Month in October - so why is it different in the US?
Black History Month US was placed here due to the birthdays of two men who were instrumental in the abolishment of slavery; Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818. Like many born into this life, his exact date of birth is unknown, but in his later life, the abolitionist decided on February 14.
Former US president Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. He was one of three children who lived in Kentucky, but his brother Thomas sadly died in infancy.
The two men would have very different upbringings, but the common ground they shared was their love of reading and their desire to learn.
Douglass was removed from his mother at an early age and was raised by his grandmother, but as was often the case, he was moved around a lot in his youth. He would eventually be "given" to the Auld family to work for them. Sophia Auld defied the rule that Black children should not be taught to read or write and began teaching Douglass the alphabet.
She was eventually found out and was scolded for what she had done and agreed to stop. But she had given Douglass the basics needed so that he could continue educating himself.
Lincoln's journey into reading was not without heartbreak. At the age of nine, he saw his mother pass away and then Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln came into his life as his stepmother. She would raise the future President as if he were her own, and in later life, he would refer to her as his "angel mother." His stepmother would encourage Lincoln to read, despite both of his parents being illiterate. Neighbors said they would see him walking for miles as a boy to obtain new books.
Douglass would escape from his life in slavery in 1838 from the farm of Edward Covey and he would go on to join up with abolitionists in the free state of New York. A fugitive in the eyes of the law, Douglass would join the abolitionist circuit and became a notable public speaker as he could give raw, first-hand accounts of what it was to be a slave.
He fled to Ireland and then England to avoid arrest, and after his new friends in London paid the Auld family for his freedom, he returned to the US to continue the fight against slavery.
Lincoln, having no desire to be a farmer in his rural community, put his thirst for education to the test as he began practicing law, and was very successful. He spent 20 years developing his education and becoming one of the most distinguished lawyers in Illinois, and it was around this time he began making waves in the world of politics.
After the disintegration of the Whig party, Lincoln joined the newly founded Republican party in 1856. After a hard-fought campaign, in which he received no votes from the deep south, Lincoln was declared president in 1860.
The lives of Douglass and Lincoln had not yet intertwined, but the Civil War brought the two men together as they strived for similar goals. Douglass would become an advisor to the President, though the pair would fall out after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
The proclamation meant that African Americans were allowed to join the army - something that Douglass had fought for tirelessly for the previous two years, as well as declaring "that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free". The abolitionist believed that the President should have used the speech to give Black people the right to vote, but when this didn't happen, a rift began to form.
The Civil War concluded and slavery was outlawed in the US. It is believed that Douglass and Lincoln reconciled shortly before the President's assassination, with the former giving a speech at the Emancipation Memorial in Washington D.C. in 1875 in Lincoln Park.
Douglass would go on to become the first Black man to ever receive a vote to become the President and would campaign tirelessly for equal rights. He was constantly on the right side of history, as he demanded to desegregate schools an entire century before it happened, and he was vocal about women deserving the right to vote.
Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, and Douglass suffered a heart attack and passed away in 1895.
Both men were instrumental in the progression of a fairer society, and Black History Month being placed in February is a nod to their tireless work, while also acknowledging the sacrifices and excellence of countless others.
Sources: Whitehouse, Britannica, History, Biography, Frederick Douglass In Britain, PBS, Biographics
.jpg_D0PQYG?tr=h-184)
.jpg_9z1GqW?tr=h-184)
.jpg_wXEJDz?tr=h-184)