Our Y celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth, pausing to reflect on the experiences of African Americans who have made a profound impact in our community and on our culture. View resources that help all to connect to the importance of honoring history.

Did you know that Black History Month has roots associated with the Y? In 1915, after attending a celebration in honor of the 50th anniversary of emancipation, Carter Woodson convened a small gathering at the Wabash Avenue YMCA in Chicago and formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). The Association created Negro History and Literature Week, renamed Negro Achievement Week, later Negro History Week and eventually Black History Month.

Honor #BlackHistoryMonth through knowledge on the vast struggles and triumphs of African Americans throughout U.S. history. Listen here.  

We recognize Dr. Marion Thompson Wright, the first African American woman in the United States to earn her Ph.D. in history. She graduated high school in Newark, New Jersey and earned degrees from Howard University and Columbia University before working as a social worker and professor. Her dissertation assisted in the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to overturn “separate but equal schools”. Thank you, Dr. Wright.

Our Y encourages children to understand and honor #BlackHistoryMonth with this great reading and media list from Family Education and biographies on Black History Heroes from National Geographic Kids.

Follow our Y on Facebook for more Black History Month content.

Our Y is deeply committed to advancing justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) for all. Our JEDI imitative identifies areas for sustainable change and presents opportunities for all people to come together toward a common good. Visit www.ymcanj.org/jedi for ways our Y supports our most vulnerable neighbors and community needs.