“I had no clue history was being made. I was just tired of giving up,” Rosa Parks stated this infamous quote in Gregory J. Reed’s “Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope, and the Heart of a Woman who Changed a Nation.” Rosa Parks’ story is one of bravery and fame. The woman who had just got off her 9-5, was told to sit in the back, and said “no,” “no” to her assigned seat, and “no” to her place in society.  “Blacks to the back,” a quote that was all too normal to Rosa. On that day- December 1st, 1955- Rosa decided that the back was no place for her nor any other of her people. Today, Rosa’s story explained a simple reason for her just being “tired” from her long day. Rosa was not physically tired. She was “tired of giving up”. For the past 58 years, we have celebrated Black History Month to remember the exhaustion of Rosa and many other civil rights leaders. 

First introduced as “Negro History Week”, Black History Month has always been a period of time to celebrate the success of black Americans and remember the history of black Americans throughout the past decades. The first idea of Black History Month was in 1915, when Carter G Woodson threw a mass celebration in Washington DC for the 50th anniversary of the emancipation of slavery. The event was a massive success with an overflow by the thousands. Carter would then work hard over the next decade to create “Negro History Week,” which would eventually grow into a month-long appreciation for black Americans.

What is Black History Month now? Over 50 years later, the question of what Black History Month serves now is a common question during this month of remembrance. Black History Month is every month, every week, and every day. Black History Month serves as a reminder of what our country once was. It is a reminder that five decades is not a very long time in history. Many elders of our America today once lived the history we learn about and highlight during Black History Month. Black History Month is a month to remember, so we don’t make the mistake of going “back” to the bus, back in time, and back to the country that broke the backs of so many blacks before they could even stand.