DUSHANBE, February 8, Asia-Plus — A series of events to mark Black History Month will be held in Tajikistan.
Today, a meeting of representatives from the US Embassy with students opened at the American Corner in the Library of the Tajik Academy of Sciences and a special library opened at the Bactria Center.
On February 9, poetical readings dedicated to history of African Americans will be held at the Russian Drama Theatre named after Vladimir Mayakovsky.
On February 11, events dedicated to Black History Month will be held at Khujand State University and the American Corner at the Regional Public Library.
Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles — slavery, prejudice, poverty – as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.
Press release issued by the US Embassy in Dushanbe said 2007 marks the 81st annual celebration since Carter G. Woodson, a noted scholar and historian, instituted Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation’s bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Woodson, the son of former slaves in Virginia, realized that the struggles and achievements of Americans of African descent were being ignored or misrepresented. He founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which supports historical research, publishes a scholarly journal and sets the theme for Black History Month each year.
ASALH has its headquarters in Washington, where Woodson lived from 1915 until his death in 1950. His home is designated a national historic site.
