USACE Celebrates Black History Month
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District celebrated African American Black History Month 20 Feb. at the Jadwin Building. The guest speaker was Mr. Frank Jackson, Assistant Vice Chancellor for State Relations, Texas A&M University System, Prairie View A&M University. Jackson spoke about African American History from Ancient time to the present day. He informed the audience of the grandeur of the African civilizations prior to the slavery of Africans in the western hemisphere. His central theme was the oneness of the human family on the planet earth. Jackson said, “All civilizations have borrowed from one another. African history is world history. The reason for African history is to tell the whole story of humanity.” Black History Month originally started in 1915 fifty years after the emancipation by Carter G. Woodson who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Chicago and his doctorate from Harvard. W.E.B. DuBois and Dr. Woodson believed that early 20th century African Americans were not being taught enough about their own heritage and achievements that their ancestors had made to society. He first announced what was back then called the national Negro History week in February 1926. He chose the month of February to coincide with Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass birthday. In 1976, fifty years after the first Negro History Week the Association for the Study of African American History officially changed with the times to Black History Month. Every U.S. president since 1976 has officially issued that proclamation designating February as now days Black African American History Month. By Dr. Rose M. Caballero, D.M., D.Min.

Download Image: Full Size (3.43 MB)
Tags:
Photo by: Tina Ybarra |  VIRIN: 200225-A-GQ819-1051.JPG

Photo Albums

Visit our Flickr site for more photos.