fgazette.com Community news site for Union Parish Louisiana
On February 15th, the Black Heritage Parade arrived in Farmerville Louisiana. Several groups from the local black community gathered to show their pride for their history and culture for Black History Month.
Since 1970, February has been considered Black History Month. Originally, from the black educators and black students of Kent State University, the first talks of black history month started in 1969. Six years later, 1976, during the United States Bicentennial, president Gerald Ford officially declared that February would be Black History Month.
Across the country, all ranges of black Americans celebrate the important individuals of their community and history. Figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., who helmed the largest civil rights movement of the modern era, Malcolm X, who taught the African American community that sometimes it takes more than just words to get your message across, and Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks, whose defiance of racist segregation policies on buses would prove monumental to the civil rights campaign. Other than historical civil rights figures, several other notable individuals are also commemorated such as Jackie Robinson, who proved that anyone can do what they are determined to pursue, Muhammad Ali, whose skills in the ring echo throughout the history of boxing, and Eugene Bullard, who was the first ever African American military pilot.