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February begins Black History Month in the United States, a time to remember and celebrate the many contributions and accomplishments of African Americans. The origins of Black History Month can be traced back to 1915, when historian Carter Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) proposed the second week of February to be Negro History Week.  This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. As the name suggests, the focus of the week was to promote the study and appreciation of Black history.

The transition to a full month of commemoration began decades later in 1969 when it was proposed by Black educators and students at Kent State University and then celebrated for the first time the next year. In 1976, Black History Month was observed across the country for the first time when President Ford recognized it during the US Bicentennial. He urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” While the focus was on educational institutions initially, it quickly moved beyond them.  

Every president since Ford has continued to recognize Black History Month and has done so under a particular theme set by ASNLH, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). This year’s theme Black Resistance explores how “African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms and police killings.” This resistance has also “consistently push[ed] the United States to live up to its ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.”

Over the centuries this resistance has taken many forms. It has included Black Americans participating in protests, sit-ins, marches, and boycotts. It has involved participation in politics and advocacy to bring about legislative and judicial change. It has seen Black faith institutions inspiring folks to join movements but also providing sanctuary in times of danger. It has meant developing media outlets, including radio shows, newspapers, and podcasts, to raise awareness of issues and activities. It has brought about the development of cultural centers, societies, and libraries to support intellectual development of communities and to collect and preserve Black stories and history. It has been embodied by Black medical professionals working to establish nursing schools, hospitals, and clinics to provide health care. It has necessitated forming labor unions as a means for Black men and women to resist inequality and advocate for themselves in the workplace. It has centered on education whether in elementary, secondary, or higher education institutions. It has used music – African American spirituals, gospel, folk music, hip-hop, and rap – to express struggle, hope, and solidarity in the face of oppression. It has relied on writers, artists, and photographers who not only supported resistance movements but also provided a new vision of the future and created a place for Black expression. It has incorporated Back athletes who have used their status to bring awareness to issues and advocate for change.

ASALH chose the theme of Black Resistance as “a call to everyone, inside and outside the academy, to study the history of Black Americans’ responses to establish safe spaces, where Black life can be sustained, fortified, and respected.” To learn more about the history of Black resistance see our book display on the main floor of the Library and the resources in our Civil Rights and Social Justice database.

The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (also known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or MLK Day) was established as a federal holiday in 1983. The legislation creating the holiday asserted it “should serve as a time for Americans to reflect on the principles of racial equality and nonviolent social change espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr.” In 1994 the King Holiday and Service Act added the focus of participation in service activities, coordinated nationally by AmeriCorps.

With his commitment to nonviolence, inspired by his own Christianity as well as the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, peacemaking was central to his role as a leader of the American Civil Rights movement. In fact, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population." King’s peacemaking also is seen in his efforts to end the war in Vietnam. He made his first public statement on the war in 1965, calling for a negotiated settlement. A few months later, at the annual convention of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King called for an end to the bombing of North Vietnam and the mediation by the United Nations to end the conflict. He asserted, “what is required is a small first step that may establish a new spirit of mutual confidence…a step capable of breaking the cycle of mistrust, violence, and war.”

King’s opposition to the war provoked criticism from the press, political leaders, and even from his fellow civil rights leaders who argued that becoming involved in the antiwar movement would harm the civil rights work at home. He, consequently, did temper his antiwar efforts for a while. At the same time, Coretta Scott King remained active in opposing the war and even spoke at a rally at the Washington Monument. King could not keep silent for long though. For him the war in Vietnam was closely tied to the racial injustice in the United States. The war took resources that could have been spent fighting injustice and poverty at home. In the spring of 1967, King led his first antiwar march where he declared, “The bombs in Vietnam explode at home—they destroy the dream and possibility for a decent America.” Less than two weeks later in April, King delivered his most well-known antiwar speech, “Beyond Vietnam.”

The speech began with a discussion of King’s own commitment to nonviolence. He then reviewed the history of Vietnam’s devastation at the hands of “deadly Western arrogance,” noting, “we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor.” This was followed by a proposed five-point plan for stopping the war, which included a unilateral ceasefire. The speech then turned to the underlying issues of the war. King asserted, “The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit.” This was the greed of American colonialism, the refusal “to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments.” As a result, King proclaimed, “We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person oriented’ society.” Radical love and justice needed to replace economic nationalism. While he felt the United States could lead in these efforts, ultimately for King, “Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies…This call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men.”

The initial response to the speech was largely negative. Nevertheless, King continued to support the peace movement until he was assassinated exactly one year later. If you would like to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his role as a peacemaker, check out our book display on the Library’s main floor to see just a sampling of the hundreds of resources available in the Library.

Music has been part of human culture for thousands of years. The oldest known instruments are bone flutes dating back at least 40,000 years. Vocal music predated this and perhaps even the spoken language, though this is debated. Some argue music was a proto-language that led to language, others that it followed spoken language, and still others that music and language derived from a common source. Whatever its origin, music is a fundamental part of human evolution.

Music allows for unique expressions of social ties and the strengthening of relational connectedness. In fact, music is said to be the universal human language. This has been asserted by poets and musicians, evolutionary biologists and cultural anthropologists, historians and archaeologists, psychologists and sociologists. Recently, a team from Harvard published the most comprehensive study to date supporting the idea of the universality of music and what features of song tend to be shared across societies.

Music is also essential to human well-being. It can reduce the heart rate, lower blood pressure, and decrease cortisol levels. It can assist in pain management and reduce the perceived intensity of pain. It can relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety and decrease stress. It can help people eat less and also help boost physical performance and increase workout endurance. It aids memory, not just in helping retrieve stored memories, but also in establishing new ones. Music facilitates human connections, meaning, and imagination.   

To learn more about the history, forms, and benefits of music, check out our book display on the Library’s 3^rd floor.

The custom of New Year’s resolutions has been around thousands of years. Specifically, it is thought to have begun with the ancient Babylonians around 2000 BCE with the festival of Akitu. This spring celebration of the new year included the tradition of making promises to the gods to pay one’s debts and return borrowed items. Keeping these promises would lead to a favorable year ahead but breaking them would mean incurring the gods’ disfavor. The ancient Romans later had similar traditions and it is through them that the practice became associated with January 1. In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar which established January as the first month. It was named to honor Janus, the two-faced god who thus symbolically could look simultaneously back on the previous year and forward to the new. The Romans would offer sacrifices to Janus and make promises of good conduct.

While these and other New Year’s resolution traditions had religious roots, today in the United States resolutions are primarily associated simply with the changing of the calendar and self-improvement. They are quite common with studies consistently showing that over 40% of people make them each year. Many of the most popular resolutions focus on health, such as exercising more or losing weight, but others include things like learning a new hobby or skill, saving more money, volunteering, or spending more time with family. College students often make resolutions like creating a study routine, getting organized, sleeping more, asking for help, and overcoming procrastination.

Nonetheless, the same research that shows how popular resolutions are also shows that the majority of people do not manage to keep them. As many as 80% of people have given up on their resolutions by the first week of February. One reason resolutions fail is that they are too vague or ambitious, like the resolution to be healthier. Resolutions are more successful when they are SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. So, for instance, instead of resolving to be healthier, one should focus on particular aspects of health like sleeping more and then be specific about that with a set bedtime. Additionally, accountability can also be helpful in keeping one’s resolutions. If your resolution is to study in the Library three nights a week, find at least one friend willing to join you in this so you can hold each other accountable. Finally, consider the resources available to aid in your resolution. If your resolution is to ask for help more remember that MARC includes Research Assistance with librarians, as well as the Writing Center, Math Lab, and Academic Success. If you are going to work at overcoming procrastination, the Next Long Night Against Procrastination will be April 13 in MARC. Happy New Year!