Black History Month honors the contributions of African Americans to United States history. Did you know that Madam CJ Walker was America’s first self-made woman to become a millionaire or that George Washington Carver was able to derive nearly 300 products from peanuts? Get the story of the creation of the NAACP, famous firsts in African American history and other black history facts.

1. Black History Month started in 1926. The observance was proposed by Carter Godwin Woodson, an author and historian, as Negro History Week. It expanded in the 1970s.

 

2. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909. It’s now considered “the nation’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil-rights organization,” according to its website.

 

3. The U.S. isn’t the only country to celebrate Black History Month. Canada also observes it in February, while the U.K. recognizes it in October.

 

4. There are more than 45 million African-Americans living in the U.S., according to Census Bureau data. That’s about 15 percent of the nation's population.

 

5. In 2013, New York had the most African-American residents, with 3.7 million.

 

Our Lawrenceville Boys and Girls Club would like to present some black history facts!!