It appears that the framework for the celebration of Black History Month began the summer of 1915, with what led to the formation of Negro History Week. It would be until the mid-1960s before the holiday — as we call it today — would be celebrated. Thereafter in 1986, Congress passed a law proclaiming the month of February as National Black History month.
I share this more as background information as to appease my own curiosity but also to bring additional awareness to an art exhibit which is currently on display at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, in which I'm exhibiting three pieces from my third book, Color Your Word! A Creativity Outlet for Nerdy Adults.
The exhibit, Karibu: A Celebration of Black Artists in Palm Beach County, runs through March 13 and features works from South Florida artists Turgo Bastien, Caron Bowman, Anthony Burks, Sr., Jamaal Clark, Dariel Donovan, Michelle Drummond, Eminent by Buera, Lee Glaze, Tracy Guiteau, Shica Hardy, Shawn Henderson, Andrew Hollimon, myself (Lawrence Jean-Louis), Scott Jeffries, Kianga Jinaki, Lupe Lawrence, Ron Lawrence, Sadesosublime, Cynthia Simmons, Shani Simpson, Jahnoi Smith, Treal Toonz, Raquel Williams, Brian Wood and Gillian Kennedy Wright.
On the topic of Color Your Word! A Creativity Outlet for Nerdy Adults, I'm entertaining the idea of releasing a collection of 12 jewelry creations inspired by content in the book later this year.
If you're in the area, stop by for the exhibit. All of the artwork is for sale, so support living artists which affords them the opportunity to continue creating.