Welcome to the Brown School’s 2025 Black History Month page
We honor and commemorate our ancestors, our contemporaries, our next generation, and our co-conspirators who have gone above and beyond in every aspect of the preservation, expression, and appreciation of Black labor, creativity, strength, and innovation.
Black History at the Brown School
In 1945, the social work department became its own school, offering a Master of Social Work degree. We soon began a doctoral program and became the first school at Washington University to admit African American students.
Origins of Black History Month
The antecedent to Black History Month was launched in the second week of February, 1926 by Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This week was also chosen to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State from January 2 to February 28, 1970.
Since 1976 every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February, also known as African American History Month, as an annual national observance recognizing the central role and significant contributions that Black Americans have made to our nation’s history, life and culture.
Black History Month received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada (February) and more recently has been observed in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (October).
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Gratefully,
Cynthia D. Williams
Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships
Co-Chair, Black History Month Committee 2025
Black History Month Committee 2025
Cynthia D. Williams, Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships, BHM Committee Co-Chair
Amber Brown, Assistant Director, Career Development, BHM Committee Co-Chair
Sharon Rhiney, Brown School, Communications Coordinator, BHM Graphic and Web Designer
Jewel Stafford, Brown School, Assistant Dean for Field Education, Director, Racial Equity Fellowship Program
Da’Shaun Scott, Brown School, Assistant Director for Student Engagement
Sarah Sims, Career Services, Assistant Director of Internships and Experiential Learningessional Development
Will Andrews, Washington University, Director of Housing Operations
Erica Jones, Brown School, Student Financial Services Assistant
Ahmar Ursani, Washington University, Assistant Director, Career Development
Deep appreciation to Dean Dorian Traube for her unwavering support, commitment, and leadership.
Special thank you to Natasha Matthews, Brown School Digital Content Specialist, for technical assistance and support.
Thank you to the staff of the Brown School Library as a valued resource and for their ongoing dedication and support of Black history.
Black Excellence in Teaching
What I teach is to how to change our thought processes in order to be able to walk in different cultures, and to deal with the African American urban struggle.
Jack Kirkland, Associate Professor, Brown School
Folks were lynched
Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Vote”
Folks were shot
Folks’ communities were gerrymandered
Folks who believed
In the Constitution were lied to
Burned out
Bought and sold
Because they agreed
All Men and Women Were Created Equal.
The Pan African Flag
The Colors
The red, black, and green colors incorporated into the imagery are drawn from the Pan-African Flag. Designed by Marcus Mosiah Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNA), it was adopted by the organization on August 13, 1920.
Black Activism and Study
We ask for this Black Studies Program because we feel it is not only necessary for our education, but for our very survival.
The Black Manifesto
If Black History Month is not
Nikki Giovanni’s poem BLK History Month, 2002
viable then wind does not
carry the seeds and drop them
on fertile ground
rain does not
dampen the land
and encourage the seeds
to root
sun does not
warm the earth
and kiss the seedlings
and tell them plain:
You’re As Good As Anybody Else
You’ve Got A Place Here, Too”
About 2025
Speakers Series 2025
Wall of Champions 2025
Land and Labor Acknowledgement
In Memoriam 2025
Facts and Figures