Black History Month is celebrated in February because it coincides with the birthdays of two prominent figures in black history—Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared that all slaves in Confederate territory were to be set free. Frederick Douglass, a prominent African American abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, was born on February 14. Considering the significant contributions of these individuals to the advancement of civil rights and the abolition of slavery, February became the chosen month to honor and celebrate black history.
