Skip to Main Content

Black History & Heritage Month

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom also devote a month to celebrating black history. Black History Month is also referred to as National African American History Month. More

Famous People in Black History

bell hooks

Bell Hooks

Writer, professor, and social critic bell hooks was undeniably one of the most successful "cross-over" academics of the late twentieth century. Her name, as well as the criticisms of racism and sexism that she penned, were central to many academic discussions, and they were also read widely outside of the educational arena. Full bio

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier

Poitier received awards and honors for both his tremendous body of work in film and his humanitarian efforts. He was named one of the AFI's 50 greatest screen legends. He was presented with the NAACP's Hall of Fame Award for his constant depiction of positive screen images. He was also honored by the Screen Actors Guild with a lifetime achievement award. Full bio

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

The life experiences of Maya Angelou--author, poet, actress, singer, dancer, playwright, director, producer--became the cornerstone of her most acclaimed work, a multivolume autobiography that traces the foundations of her identity as a twentieth-century American black woman. Full bio

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

One of the most talented and prolific writers to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Langston Hughes enjoyed a long and successful career as a poet and author of short stories, novels, magazine and newspaper articles, plays, and numerous other works. Full bio

Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston

Prolific writer Zora Neale Hurston became one of the most published black female authors in her time and arguably the most important collector of African-American folklore ever. Full bio

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the years since his assassination on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. has evolved from a prominent civil rights leader into the symbol of the civil rights movement in the United States. Full bio

Black History eBooks @ MiraCosta Library

Gee's Bend Quilts Resources