What is Black History Month?
Black History Month was initially created to focus attention on the contributions of Africans to the United States and later throughout the globe. It honours all Black people from all periods of world history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to other African communities around the world today. It is now celebrated all across the world to bring light to the histories of people of African descent in the diaspora as well as on the continent.
Black History Month as we know it originated from the efforts of Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1969. They announced that the second week of February was to be a week dedicated to researching, learning about and presenting black history. Black History Month has become a global movement in appreciation of the African communities
Resources for celebrating Black History Month
Chihiro Mutanga (@hiro_chihiro145) has created a series of artworks around the theme of Black History Month 2024 with the aim of raising awareness of the contributions of the black community.
Impact Metrics for Past Events in Black History Month
Black Awareness Campaign from Africa Center Hong Kong x Lush Hong Kong & Macau in 2022
We partnered with Lush in promoting African Literature with a campaign of limited edition bath bombs in the stores to fundraise for Africa Center Hong Kong. Internally, Lush also educated their staff about African hair history, current African hair practice trends and how Lush Afro Haircare products could be suitable for these routines.
U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Section grant supported Africa Center Hong Kong to organise holistic African cultural workshops offered to 7 local HK schools
With the grant, we delivered African American Cultural Appreciation and (mis)appropriation workshops in Hong Kong schools in 2022 and 2023. The topics of workshops included Hip Hop Culture Workshop, African American Fashion Workshop, N-Word, Black Face, Cultural (mis)appropriation and other taboos, and Race Relations Discussion
