Proclamation: Black History Month 2024

PROCLAMATION

BLACK HISTORY MONTH – February 2024

WHEREAS, Black History Month is an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the vast contributions of Black Americans to our community, university, and country, and recognize that Black History is a central part of American History; and

WHEREAS, historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1926. In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized the entire month of February as Black History Month. The month of February was selected because of the birthdays of American President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12th) and American abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14th); On January 31, 2023, President Biden proclaimed that February was National Black History Month; and

WHEREAS, in the Summer of 2023, the University of Arizona marked its first observance of Juneteenth as an official paid holiday for employees. Juneteenth commemorates the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas – June 19, 1865 – to announce the end of the Civil War and the freedom of all enslaved people, over two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation; and 

WHEREAS, today, at the University of Arizona we strive to practice both inclusion and compassion in every interaction, in every office, in every college, and in every division on campus.  Our institutional strength is fueled by the rich cultural tapestry made up of every member of our campus community so they can engage, belong, advance, and thrive; and

WHEREAS, Black students, faculty, staff, and community members have made major contributions to the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the University of Arizona and

NOW, THEREFORE, as President of the University of Arizona, I hereby proclaim February as 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

And urge the University of Arizona community to join us in this recognition and celebration of diversity through the generations. The University of Arizona African American Museum of Southern Arizona includes exhibits about influential African Americans in Southern Arizona and significant movements and moments in African American history.

Robert C. Robbins, M.D.
President
The University of Arizona