Black History Month Colours Fully Explained: What Do They Stand for?

Are you proud of your ancestry? In the United States of America and Canada, Black History Month (BHM) is celebrated in February. This period honours and recognises African patrimony, and the Black History Month colours have deep meanings.

In 1920, The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) created the BHM flag. The Black History Month colours on the flag honour the ancestry, knowledge, culture, and heritage of people of African descent. In February, people of colour who played crucial roles in freeing their people from oppressors are honoured.

What is Black History Month and why is it celebrated?

BHM is a month-long celebration marked annually in the United States of America and other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. During this period, people honour, appreciate and recognise the contributions and achievements of people of African descent.

When did Black History Month start?

BHM started being celebrated officially in the 1970s, but its history dates to 1915. The celebration is Carter G. Woodson's creation.

In the summer of 1915, Woodson travelled to mark the 50th anniversary of emancipation in Illinois. Many other people also travelled to view the exhibits showing the progress made by people of colour towards ending slavery.

The experience inspired him to form the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). The association aimed to heighten awareness about these achievements. Through the association, he created the Negro History Week in February 1926.

Later, the shift to a month-long celebration commenced. In 1976, the celebration was institutionalised from a week to a month. The name was also changed from Negro history to BHM. Since the 1970s, every sitting American president has endorsed BHM and given a theme for each year. The themes for the last few years are listed below.

• Black Health and Wellness (2022)
• The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity (2021)
• African Americans and the Vote (2020)
• Black Migrations (2019)
• African Americans in Times of War (2018)
• The Crisis in African Education (2017)
• Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories (2016)
• A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture (2015)
• Civil Rights in America (2014)

What are the colours of Black History Month?

What are the colours for Black History Month? The official colours of BHM are black, red, yellow, and green. These are also known as the Pan African colours. Initially, yellow was not included on the list.

The Ethiopian flag inspired the addition of yellow. Ethiopia is the only African nation that was not colonised due to its indigenous people being too powerful for Europeans to handle.

Meaning of black history colours

What does each of the colours of Black History Month represent?

• Black: It represents the melanated skin colour of Africans or people of African descent.
• Yellow: It represents optimism, justice, and equality for all people.
• Green: It symbolises Africa's rich greenery and other God-given natural resources.
• Red: It symbolises the excruciating bloodshed people of colour underwent during the battle against slavery, racism, and colonialism.

In February each year, businesses usually use flags or banners with the colours for Black History Month to commemorate this crucial period. Students and the public also hold special elaborate events in various institutions to promote an understanding of the culture and heritage of African people.