It is the mandate of all libraries to provide a safe, neutral space where patrons can access information. As an academic library, the Walter W. Stiern Library upholds this responsibility by sharing its collection items pertaining to African American culture and history. The CSUB campus celebrates Black History Month each year with the support of the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) and the Black Student Success Council. The Library wishes to offer its support for these organizations and their events via this guide which offers additional information resources pertaining to the themes on this calendar. We also wish to spotlight our own past exhibits and displays which we have organized for Black History Month over the last few years.
Campus / Community Events & Library Exhibits
Black Student Success Center Events Calendar
Stiern Library Exhibit: Black Women Authors
Stiern Library Exhibit: Black Media Professionals
The origins of Black History Month can be traced to the historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson who said “[t]hose who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” The Library of Congress states that Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. The foundation later became the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (“ASALH”). In 1926 this organization began the celebration of Negro History week. Dr. Woodson deliberately selected the week in February that celebrated both the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass - important figures in African American history. In 1975 and 1976 President Ford expanded this week of commemoration to Black History Month. In 1986 the United States Congress passed legislation that designated the month of February as National Black History Month. At this time "President Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5443 which proclaimed that 'the foremost purpose of Black History Month is to make all Americans aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity.'” President Clinton issues the first proclamation that designated a theme for each National African American History Month. Since this first Presidential Proclamation (Presidential Proclamation 6863) in 1996 each subsequent president has followed this tradition by naming a theme for Black History Month each year.
African American History Month. (December 30, 2020). Library of Congress. Retrieved January 24, 2021 from https://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/african-american.php
