February is Black History Month. While many people are aware of the month's designation and meaning, not so many are aware of just how Black History Month came to be commemorated nationwide. To find out, we asked Shawn Alexander of the Langston Hughes Center at the University of Kansas, to explain how the event got its start.
The theme of Black History Month for 2011 is "African-Americans and the Civil War." Shawn Alexander is the interim director of the Langston Hughes Center at KU. For more information on the Center, on African-American history and some of the events planned in connection with Black History Month, visit the Langston Hughes Center on the web via the ku.edu website.