Celebrating Diversity Blog – Black History Month: Black Resistance

February 7, 2023

a hand with a melanated skin tone holding up a fist against a grey backdrop

Written by Kristin Homuth, Language and Learning Support Specialist – Graduate Studies

Why does Black History Month occur in February? When Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) first established “Negro History Week”, which would later expand to become Black History month, he chose the second week of February because it contained the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two men who are significant American symbols of freedom. However, the life work of Woodson and the mission of the ASALH was never to confine Black history to a week. Woodson and the ASALH believed there should be a year-around and year-after-year study of Black history. The first official observance came in 1976, when President Woodrow Wilson established February as Black History Month. 

The theme for 2023’s Black History Month is Black Resistance. Since their arrival in the United States, Black people have resisted ongoing oppression, pushing for the country to live up to its ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all. On February 4th, we celebrate the well known resistance, Rosa Parks, who famously refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. By acts of resistance, Black people have achieved triumphs, successes, and progress which can be seen in the end of slavery, dismantling Jim Crow laws in the South, increased political representation, desegregation of educational institutions, the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and representation of Black voices in the media. 

Despite this progress, Black resistance must continue as Black Americans continue to face racism, discrimination, and violence, most recently seen with the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Let this year’s Black History Month theme of Black Resistance keep us mindful, not just in February, of the power of resistance and striving towards a more just society.

 


CCS Black Creative Club + Black History Month Events

  • February 1st-3rd, 2023 Blackout, both campuses
  • February 3rd, 2023 Spades Tournament, 11:30am-12:30pm, WB217
  • Friday Movie Marathon “Bye Felisha”, 12:30pm-6:00pm WB217
  • February 17th, 2023 BlacKkKlansman Movie Night, 6:00pm-8:00pm, TC 280
  • February 18th, 2023 The Cookout, 5:00pm-8:30pm, WB 217

Other Local Events

Detroit Institute of Arts
The DIA is offering a variety of activities in honor of Black History Month.

  • February 3rd, 2023, 7pm, Wendell Harrison: Fighting for the Children (film)
  • February 4th, 2023, 10am-2pm,  Black History Month Educator Workshop
  • February 4th, 2023, 2pm, New York International Children’s Film Festival: Celebrating Black Stories
  • February 4th, 2023, 7:30pm, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (film)
  • February 5th, 2023, 2pm, Drylongso (film)
  • February 9th, 7 pm and February 11th, 2pm, Mosaic in Concert: Let the Good Times Roll
  • February 17th-23rd, The Melt Goes on Forever (film, virtual)
  • February 17th, 6pm-8:30pm, Drawing in the Galleries: African American Galleries
  • February 26th, 2pm, Kenneth Thompkins: Structurally Sound (concert)


Detroit Historical Museum

  • February 25th, 10am-4pm, On the Shoulders of Giants: Celebrating Black History Month


Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History 

  • February 12th, 2pm-4pm, Sunday Film Series: Zora Neal Hurston”: Claiming a Space
  • February 16th, 5pm-9pm, Third Thursdays @ the Wright
  • February 18th, 1pm-5pm, The Wright Family Fun Day
  • February 26th, 2pm-4pm, ASALH Black History Program: Reflections of a Civil Rights Foot Soldier
  • February 26th, Youth Speaks Black History Month Showcase

 

Additional Resources