Black Legacy Month

Black History Month started off in the United States as the observation of "Negro History Week", established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and many other prominent African Americans in 1926. The intention of Negro History Week was to provide a period of time to acknowledge and showcase the contributions of African Americans whose contributions were minimized and at times erased from American History. Negro History Week was established into Black History Month in 1976. Due to the Civil Rights Movement that took place throughout the 1960s, the growth and communal awareness of Black pride, identity, and power assisted in the expansion of recognizing Negro History Week as Black History Month. 

The annual large-scale celebration of Black Legacy Month, specifically at Dartmouth, started in February 2016. Despite Black History Month being a nationally recognized historical celebration, it was a student planning committee, including members of the Afro-American Society organization at Dartmouth, with help of then Assistant Dean and Advisor for Black Students Kari Cooke, who made the first official Black Legacy Month celebration happen. 

Quoting student, Anthony Fosu '24, from an article published by The Dartmouth, "Part of the reason we changed the name from Black History Month to Black Legacy Month here at Dartmouth is because Black history isn't something that's relegated to the past......It's something that is living and breathing and part of everything we do, even today." 

More information on Black History Month can be found here: https://blackhistorymonth.gov/

• Provide a space for discussion, acknowledgment, and a path for understanding of the Black identity and engagement to learn about Black issues.
• Recognizing the contribution of Black and Pan-African communities, both within the Dartmouth campus and beyond. 
• Build community around the Black and Pan-African community at Dartmouth while fostering a sense of pride and legacy.

Starting as small intimate gatherings to acknowledge the presence, contributions and achievements of Black community members. Black Legacy Month has grown into a wide-reaching and robust celebration that includes but is not limited to opening and closing ceremonies, dinners, performances, workshops, forums, and professional development opportunities. 

The annual student committee members chosen to prepare, plan, and execute Black Legacy Month take on responsibilities that span from logistical and financial planning to providing their own creative talents and relationships to establish what is from year to year, Black Legacy Month. Through the planning and coordination of Black Legacy Month community building is fostered across organizations and individuals, especially when recognizing space to approach intersectionality. Much of the work that is done in preparation for BLM, both by staff and the many students who participate in planning, is focused on the resources, spaces, and conversations needed by Black students at Dartmouth. 

In accordance with what student Anthony Fosu had mentioned, through the planning of Black Legacy Month and the hard work that is attributed from every student, student organization, alumni, staff member and faculty member they are provided the freedom and capacity to further their own legacies for BLM from year to year.