Chicago's Black women played a vital role in creating Black History Month

Without Black women, it's very unlikely Black History Month would be what it is today.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson wasn't only inspired by the Lincoln Jubilee; he was also influenced by Mary Church Terrell, a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women and the first Black woman on DC's Board of Education.

Terrell believed Black history was essential to racial equality, and after Frederick Douglass died in 1895 she successfully pushed for Douglass Day celebrations in schools beginning in 1897. That was almost 30 years before Negro History Week.

Then there's Vivian G. Harsh, Chicago's first professional Black librarian. As director of the George Cleveland Hall branch, she built what became the largest Black history collection in the Midwest and organized Negro History Week programs as the movement grew.

In 1942, Madeline Stratton Morris created the first Black history curriculum for Chicago Public Schools. It was the first program of its kind adopted by a major school system.