The history of African Americans and North Carolina has been inescapably linked since the 1500s. The famous English circumnavigator Sir Francis Drake may have left African servants on Roanoke Island in 1586 to make room for survivors of an early attempt to establish a settlement in the New World. Even earlier in 1526, the Spanish explorer and slave trader Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón sailed up the Cape Fear River with a crew that included several African slaves. By the late 1600s, the plantation system was deeply rooted in North Carolina, and it would take the turmoil of the 20th century to begin addressing whether all North Carolinians should have equal access to voting, education, housing and employment.

In 1926 Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a scholar and professor at Howard University, started promoting Black History Week as a way to address the lack of serious research and publications promoting the achievements of African Americans. The son of former slaves, Woodson grew up with a love of learning and an endless thirst for knowledge. He eventually earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and a doctorate from Harvard University. (He was the second African American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard.) Woodson chose February to highlight the achievements of blacks because it coincided with the birth dates of two influential Americans: Abraham Lincoln (Feb.12) and Frederick Douglass (Feb.14).

The Black History Month we celebrate today evolved from Black History Week. Prior to Woodson’s efforts of recognizing African Americans, very few scholars were dedicated to preserving, interpreting and researching aspects of black history. Today, African American and Pan-African studies have taken their places along with other academic areas within the liberal arts curriculum and the humanities.

In addition to exploring African American culture and history at museums and historic sites, other locations — bookstores, community centers, colleges and universities — are honoring Black History Month in a variety of kid-friendly ways. Beyond February, there are numerous ways to explore African American history year-round in North Carolina. With a stronger knowledge and appreciation of the various cultures and people that make up our state, we not only become more tolerant, but more insightful and better prepared to define our collective future.

The N.C. Museum of History will hold a series of events this month related to Black History Month. Click here for more information.

B.J. Davis of the N.C. Museum of History writes monthly for TriangleMom2Mom.