Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Feb. 1 marks the first day of Black History Month, and suddenly the study of the Black experience may feel like an act of defiance.
A sculpture of Carter G. Woodson in a Washington, D.C., park last year. Woodson’s dedication to celebrating the historic contributions of Black people led to the establishment of Black History Month. Credit… Kenny Holston/The New York Times By Clyde McGrady
Clyde McGrady covers race and identity from Washington, D.C.
Feb. 1, 2025
Feb. 1 is the beginning of Black History Month, which for decades has recognized the contributions of Black people to American civic life and culture with festive luncheons, serious lectures, profitable merchandise lines and staid White House receptions.
But a month that was officially recognized nearly five decades ago by a Republican president, Gerald R. Ford, is dawning this year with new significance amid President Trump’s furious assault on diversity programs inside and outside the federal government.
Suddenly the study of Black history — or at least the dark corners of slavery, segregation and bigotry — appears to be an act of defiance.
“Black History Month existed long before presidents endorsed it, and it will continue, even if presidents do not,” said Martha Jones, a professor of history and a presidential scholar at Johns Hopkins University. Nonetheless, she added, “there’s a great deal to lament and even to decry” about the suppression of American history.
On Friday evening, Mr. Trump issued a proclamation that announced “February 2025 as National Black History Month,” “by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States.”
Adding to mentions of celebrated Black historical figures such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, he celebrated two contemporary Black conservatives, the scholar Thomas Sowell and Justice Clarence Thomas, as well as the golfer Tiger Woods.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
