Black History Month
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A Roundup of Black History Month Events

by Ginelle Foskin and Mabel Taunu

Black History Month in the U.S. dates back to 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodsen wanted to honour Black history with a week-long celebration. Soon, communities began to expand the celebrations for a month, but Black History Month wasn’t officially recognized by the U.S. government until 1976.

In 1995, Jean Augustine, the first Black woman to become a member of parliament, made a motion to recognize February as Black History Month in Canada—nearly 70 years after it first began!  

Black History Month is an opportunity to honour and celebrate the Black Canadians who, despite the many systemic barriers they continue to face, have contributed to Canada and the world. Throughout February, we celebrate the perseverance, ingenuity and innovation, the dedication, the resilience and forgiveness, creativity and diversity that is Black People in Canada. 

To help celebrate Black History Month, we’ve rounded up some great online events happening in February. 

This is the first in a series of posts on celebrating Black History Month 2021. 

Photo by Simone Fischer on Unsplash