A commemorative month, also in some instances known as a heritage month or a history month, is a month-long observance designated to recognize and celebrate various aspects of cultural, historical, and social significance, in particular, in commemoration of historically marginalized minorities. It originated in the US and is still mainly practiced there and in Canada, with such months institutionalized on government level and observed by many private institutions, such as schools and universities. [1]
The first commemorative month was the US Black History Month, which first was commemorated at Kent State University from January 2 to February 28, 1970, [2] and recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial. [3] The observance had begun at a smaller scale in 1926 as "Negro History Week". It took until 1986 before another commemorative month, Women's History Month, in March, was recognized on state level in the US. The third such month was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, recognized in 1992. [4]
Black History Month is celebrated in October in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. [5]
Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by the victorious Union Army, or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed.
Kent County is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 657,974, making it the fourth most populous county in Michigan, and the largest outside of the Detroit area. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county was set off in 1831, and organized in 1836. It is named for New York jurist and legal scholar James Kent, who represented the Michigan Territory in its dispute with Ohio over the Toledo Strip.
Elizabeth Anne Ford was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of former president Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Ford also was the second lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974 when her husband was vice president.
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memory of the American Revolution. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Fathers in the Second Continental Congress.
Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of President Richard Nixon, and ended on January 20, 1977. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had been appointed vice president on December 6, 1973, following the resignation of Spiro Agnew from that office. Ford was the only person to serve as president without being elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency. His presidency ended following his narrow defeat in the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter, after a period of 895 days in office.
Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month and was formerly known as Negro History Month before 1976. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora, initially lasting a week before becoming a month-long observation since 1970. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada, where it has received official recognition from governments, but more recently has also been celebrated in Ireland and the United Kingdom where it is observed in October.
Richard Franklin Vander Veen was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is observed in the United States during the month of May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1973, and as the 40th vice president under President Richard Nixon from 1973 to 1974. Ford succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned in 1974, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976. Ford is the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president.
A presidential proclamation is a statement issued by a US president on an issue of public policy and is a type of presidential directive.
The politics of Michigan, a competitive state that leans Democratic in presidential elections, are divided. Until 2016, Michigan was considered part of the Democrats' "Blue Wall." Governors since the 1970s have alternated between the two parties, and statewide offices including attorney general, secretary of state, and senator have been held by members of both parties in varying proportions, though the state currently is represented by two Democratic U.S. Senators and Democrats hold every statewide office. The Democratic Party has the minimum majority of two seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the Michigan Legislature. The state's congressional delegation is commonly split, with one party or the other typically holding a narrow majority, and Democrats currently have a 7-6 majority.
Paul Lamar Collins is an American realist painter. Collins is known for his skillful use of textures, light, and attention to detail.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is the presidential museum and burial place of Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States (1974–1977), and his wife Betty Ford. It is located near the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford's presidential museum is the only such facility under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration to be separate from the presidential library, which is located approximately 130 miles (210 km) to the east in Ann Arbor. Despite the separation, the library and museum are a single institution with one director.
Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.
Edward Warren Crosby was an African-American professor/administrator emeritus, in the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University (KSU). As a pioneer in the field of Black education his most notable accomplishments include the establishment of Black History Month and the Department of Pan-African Studies at KSU. The Institute for African American Affairs (1969) and the Center of Pan-African Culture (1970) were two of the first institutions of their kind to be established at institutions of higher education.
The 1976 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Texas was won by former governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia with 51.14% of the vote, giving him 26 electoral votes. This result made Texas about 1% more Democratic than the nation-at-large. He also beat the incumbent President Gerald Ford in the general election. To date, this remains the last time that a Democratic presidential candidate won Texas, and the last time Texas voted more Democratic than the nation-at-large.
The 1976 United States presidential election in Georgia was held on November 2, 1976. The Democratic candidate, former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, overwhelmingly won his home state with 66.74% of the vote ahead of the Republican Party candidate, incumbent President Gerald Ford, giving him the state's 12 electoral votes. Carter carried all of Georgia's 159 counties and 10 congressional districts by wide margins.
The United States foreign policy during the 1974–1977 presidency of Gerald Ford was marked by efforts to de-escalate the Cold War. Ford focused on maintaining stability and promoting détente with the Soviet Union. One of Ford's key foreign policy achievements was the signing of the Helsinki Accords in 1975. The accords were a series of agreements between the US, Soviet Union, and other European countries that aimed to promote human rights, economic cooperation, and peaceful relations between East and West. Ford met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev several times, and the two countries signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1979, which aimed to limit the number of nuclear weapons held by the two superpowers.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Gerald Ford from January 1, 1976, to January 20, 1977.