Tammy Baldwin
By Tammy Baldwin
This February, we mark the 48th anniversary of Black History Month, a month in which we honor the achievements and sacrifices of Black Americans throughout our nation’s history.
Black History Month in 2024
Long before the federal recognition of Black History Month, Black Americans were spearheading efforts to celebrate Black history in America. Beginning in 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland who founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, sponsored the first-ever national Negro History Week. Choosing the second week of February to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two critical figures who contributed to the emancipation of Black Americans, this week was the predecessor to the now-celebrated Black History Month. It is also important to note the civil rights movement’s role in creating an unofficial Black History Month and increasing Black history courses and curriculum in schools across the country.
Since its federal recognition, every Black History Month has a different theme for celebration and in 2024, this year’s theme is “African Americans and the Arts.” From Grammy-winning musician Al Jarreau, multi-talented Oprah Winfrey, Oscar-winning actress Hattie McDaniel, Broadway screenwriter Lorraine Hansberry, Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley IV, and more, Wisconsin has been the home to many prominent Black artists who have utilized art to empower our Black communities and preserve Black history.
Black History is Wisconsin History.
We can’t talk about the history of Wisconsin without talking about our Black communities here because Black history is Wisconsin history.
In the early years of our statehood, Black Americans came to Wisconsin in the search of freedom and opportunity. They created anti-slavery establishments in Grant and Vernon County and started settling in southeastern cities like Racine, Milwaukee, and Beloit. Wisconsin also served as a critical role in the Underground Railroad and took a stand against the Fugitive Slave Act following Joshua Glover’s rescue.
Since then our Black communities have grown in size and have brought so much culture, vibrancy, and history to Wisconsin. We have had Black Wisconsinites who have gone on to change the world including Joshua Glover, Vel Phillips, Rep. Gwen Moore, Dr. James Cameron, Porche Bennett-Bey, and of course Jerrel Jones, the first Black owner of a newspaper Milwaukee Courier– and radio station– WNOV– in the United States.
Black history will always be a part of the past, present, and future of Wisconsin.
This month, I am reminded that because of the strength of our Black communities who have been committed to organizing and creating lasting change, Wisconsin establishes itself as the hub of political movements and social change, moving the rest of the nation forward.
A Look to the Future
While this month is a celebration, it is also a time to recognize that Black history is under attack right now even in 2024. From school boards banning books by Black authors like Toni Morrison to Florida’s government banning African American history courses from their schools, there are active efforts today to censor and suppress Black history.
In order to beat back on this hatred, it’s going to take all of us, from the community to the government level, working together to ensure our country is a place of fairness, equality, and opportunity for all. This Election Year, in Wisconsin and across the country, so much is going to be on the ballot. Whether it’s your local or statewide elections, getting out to organize and get your friends and family to the polls will be critical in electing candidates who are determined to work for all of us, not a select few. We’ve got some work ahead of us but you have my word that as your Senator, I will always work hard to amplify and empower Wisconsin’s Black communities.
Happy Black History Month!