Black History Month theme for 2016

The year 2016 is quickly approaching and the theme for Black History Month has been revealed.

It will be, Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories.

The history of African American unfolds across the canvass of America, beginning before the arrival of the Mayflower and continuing to the present. From port cities where Africans disembarked from slave ships to the battle fields where their descendants fought for freedom, from the colleges and universities where they have pursued education, to places where they created communities during centuries of migration, the imprint of Americans of African descent is deeply embedded in the narrative of the American past, and the sites prompt us to remember. Over time, many of these sites of African American memory became hallowed grounds.

One cannot tell the story of America without preserving and reflecting on the places where African Americans have made history. The Kingsley Plantation, DuSable’s home site, the numerous stops along the Underground Railroad, Seneca Village, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church and Frederick Douglass’ home — to name just a few.