Black History Month Resources
This year's Black History Month theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity”
The theme explores the African diaspora and Black families across the United States.
Approximately 42.3% of the population in the Greater Cincinnati area, based on 2019 census data, identify themselves as Black or African American. Each year, Black History Month upholds and recognizes the achievements of and impact made by African Americans in the United States. This year, we celebrate from February 1 – March 1, 2021.
The Beginning
In 1926, the Association for the Study of American African Life and History sponsored a Negro History Week. The second week of February was chosen, being the birth month of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It was designed to inspire schools and communities across the United States to organize local celebrations, activities, and lectures in an effort to teach Black history as it had never been taught before.
Black History Month Today
As members of IABC, we are called to take action to move efforts of diversity and inclusion forward. Nearly 53 years following the Civil Rights Movement, issues of inclusion, accessibility, systemic racism, violence, discrimination, inequity, and injustice remain as part of the broader United States culture. Over the last 12 months, issues of racial inequity have, once again, been on full display in both professional and personal life. There has been a barrage of misinformation, mistrust, and a strong lack of consensus and unity— intensified by the pandemic.
As a Chapter, we encourage communicators to take an intentional approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion; not only during Black History Month, but throughout the year. We recommend that employers, groups, and organizations use credible resources to amplify facts and gain new perspectives. As such, we’re sharing a list of key resources and events. If you have one to add, please email us at president-cincinnati@iabc.com.
Resources & Events
This year’s theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” explores the African diaspora and Black families across the United States. The listing below contains online resources and events so you can find what you need to recognize African-American achievements and/or dig deeper into the importance of overcoming barriers to diversity and inclusion.
Black History Month 2021 Resources
- How to Leverage Black History Month for Real D&I Results
- What brands need to know before celebrating Black History Month 2021
- Black History Month on Social Media
- Amanda Gorman reads 2021 inauguration poem, "The Hill We Climb"
National Resources: Key Figures & Moments in U.S. Black History
- Origins of Black History Month, the History Channel
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, American Writers Museum.
- Frederick Douglass: Agitator, a virtual exhibit. American Writers Museum
- The 1619 Project, the New York Times
- Civil Rights Movement, the History Channel
- 29 notable African Americans who helped change the world
- 44 African Americans Who Shook Up the World
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Greater Cincinnati Resources
- Country still feeling effects of Great Migration, Cincinnati Enquirer, April 9, 2016
- Cincinnati Freedom Center
- The Great Migration: Cincinnati
- Collaborative Agreement History and Refresh, Women’s City Club
- African-American Chamber of Commerce
- Cincinnati: A City of Immigrants: African-Americans: 1830s – 1930s
- The Voice of Black Cincinnati.com