Black History Month | February 2026
The time has once again come for our annual celebration of Black History Month. It seems like only a week ago that I penned an article about our plans for February last year.
This year’s theme is “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” as set forth by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The observance was originally founded by Carter G. Woodson, the “father of Black History.” Woodson’s mission was to share and preserve the particular contributions of Black culture. In 1926 he launched the first Negro History Week, and fifty years later President Gerald Ford officially expanded it to a month in 1976.
I have been commemorating Black History all my life. My earliest memory is of celebrating in my segregated elementary school, where I attended first through fourth grade. In February 1966, when I was in first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Nelson, gave me a small part in a school assembly play. I was assigned Cassius Clay’s famous line, “I am the greatest—the heavyweight champion of the world.” Clay would later change his name to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam.
Ten years later, in 1976, I was a junior in a desegregated high school when President Ford expanded Negro History Week to a month. I worked in the office for extracurricular credit and remember fixing a small bulletin board behind the counter with a couple of friends. We managed to find a picture of the opera singer Leontyne Price, a native Mississippian from Laurel, and another notable Black figure whose name I can’t recall. That small board was meaningful: in 1969, when I was one of three Black students in my elementary school, there had been no celebration of Black history or culture. Our bulletin board brought Black icons to the forefront and honored Carter G. Woodson’s mission—sharing our culture and exhibiting racial pride.
Fast forward to my time here at St. John’s. I’m pleased to say we have commemorated Black History Month here since 1991. I co-chaired the committee alongside Saundra Hill-Hall; Velma Ford, Joan Mitchell, and Marci Clare were also part of that original group. Our celebrations originally took place on the last Sunday in February in the afternoon, outside our regular service, and featured poetry, dance, and music of Black culture. I was largely responsible for the production until a spinal injury forced me to step back. We then began commemorating Absalom Jones—the first Black priest in the Episcopal Church—on the second or third Sunday of February, since his birthday falls on February 14.
This year we will commemorate the centennial of Negro History Week beginning February 1. Our choir will add more spirituals and gospel music to their virtuosic repertoire and will lead the service music for the Gospel Mass of Saint Augustine by Leon C. Roberts throughout the month. We’ve invited Rev. Guy Lemus, rector at St. Luke’s in La Cañada and president of the local H. Bell Hannibal chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, to preach for Absalom Jones Sunday.
We will use the last weekend in February as a Friends and Family Reunion for anyone with ties to St. John’s—from descendants of the original members to present-day parishioners. On Saturday, February 21 at 5:00 p.m. there will be a performance by a string quartet from the Inner-City Youth Orchestra and the Lula Washington Dance Theater to benefit a local charity. A suggested freewill donation of $15 will be collected, a portion of which will go to a charity. For this weekend we challenge you to invite at least five friends or family to join you for a “pew rally” to experience this magnificent space we cherish.
We will again invite anyone who would like to add their name to our “Centennial Patchwork Quilt.” It’s an inexpensive way to literally become part of the fabric of the cathedral.
This year it feels even more important to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans. We’ve watched recent actions at the national level attempt to rewrite parts of American history—dismantling DEI programs and changing how holidays and national parks are recognized. We look on with concern as ICE raids target immigrant families; our history reminds us how dangerous it has been when groups of people are hunted and disappeared because of who they are.
To sum up: we are commemorating the centennial of Negro History Week, created by Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History. His mission—preserving and sharing Black history and culture—is our mission too. We will honor our past. We will not be written out of American history.
Happy Black History Month,
Canon Earl L. Mounger
