Celebrate Black History Month

In the month of February, many will be celebrating Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, and President's Day.  Many of you may or may not know that February is also Celebrate Black History Month.  A month where the accolades of Black Americans are highlighted and serve as reminders of the contributions they have made to society. 

The goal I want to reach in this 4-week series is to highlight and bring attention to many of the notable Black Americans who live and/or have made an impact here in Valley Stream. Yes, I do know that the term used now is African American, but that would eliminate the Caribbean born friends and neighbors amongst us and I do not want to do that.

Did you know that the idea of Black History Month started from a display of highlighting the progress Black people made during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1915?  According to Daryl Michael Scott for ASALH at www.asalh.org, he publishes the info below on the birth of the celebration and the role Carter G. Woodson played. 

Thousands of African Americans traveled from across the country to see exhibits highlighting the progress their people had made since the destruction of slavery. Awarded a doctorate from Harvard three years earlier, Woodson joined the other exhibitors with a black history display. Despite being held at the Coliseum, the site of the 1912 Republican convention, an overflow crowd of six to twelve thousand waited outside for their turn to view the exhibits. Inspired by the three-week celebration, Woodson decided to form an organization to promote the scientific study of black life and history before leaving town. On September 9th, Woodson met at the Wabash YMCA with A. L. Jackson and three others and formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH).

You can read the complete text here.

Rev. Kymberly Clemons-Jones, Pastor of the Valley Stream Presbyterian Church will be featured.  Come back to learn a little more about her and what she is doing for our community.

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