Stony Brook University began its centennial commemoration of Black History Month with an opening ceremony on February 4 at the Stony Brook Union. The event recognized 100 years since Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a historian and Harvard PhD graduate, initiated “Negro History Week” in 1926. The week was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, both figures celebrated by Black communities since the late 19th century.
The university’s observance aligns with the national theme for 2026, “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” as established by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Stony Brook will host events throughout February focused on academic exploration, cultural expression, and community engagement.
The ceremony included a procession from the Student Activities Center Plaza to the Stony Brook Union Ballroom. Keynote speakers Jarrett Drake and Jazmen Moore, assistant professors in the Department of Africana Studies, addressed attendees on topics including the development of Black history commemorations and Woodson’s impact.
Drake highlighted Woodson’s scholarship: “Woodson’s most well-known work is ‘The Mis-education of the Negro’ and he also wrote a very important book called ‘The History of the Negro Church,” said Drake. “But his book entitled ‘The Negro in Our History’ was watershed at the time of its release in 1922 because there had never been an academically trained social scientist who put the question out, ‘Do you remember the time when we, who are now called Negroes, now called Black, lived in a different time in a different place on the African continent?”
Drake added that prior to Woodson’s research, no scholar had examined questions about African origins of Black people in America: “Prior to Dr. Woodson, there was no scholar who was asking questions about the African origins of Black people in the Americas,” said Drake. “By taking that first leap, he allowed others to do more thorough work a little bit later.”
Moore discussed Woodson’s dedication to fighting erasure of Black history from education and his collaborations with teachers: “I think Woodson intended his work to be something that we engaged in continuously, and for it to not have been stifled to one week or one month, even though he was creating those opportunities for us to celebrate,” she said.
She emphasized how Woodson noticed a lack of representation: “In 1927 Woodson observed that in practically all of the schoolhouses of Europe and America, there was not a picture on the wall or a book on the shelf to show that a Negro had ever achieved anything, and he was incensed,” she said. “He set out to change that.’”
Moore also described how educators worked together under Woodson’s guidance: “Our history wasn’t taken seriously and he worked with them to create and distribute classroom and curriculum resources — including textbooks, pamphlets, graphics, posters you could hang on the walls — that centered Black history and culture in order to challenge that erasure of Black life,” said Moore. She explained how teachers used covert methods during segregation-era surveillance: “Black teachers would even develop covert methods to teach these resources engaging in acts of fugitive pedagogy to ensure their students received a Black-affirming education. It was not uncommon in the South, during the Jim Crow era, for people who were not even educators from outside the community to come into Black schools to observe. It was a form of surveillance.”
Moore also acknowledged contributions by Stony Brook students and alumni toward founding its Africana Studies Department.
Donna-Lee Mahabeer, director of Diversity, Intercultural and Community Engagement (DICE), commented on this milestone: “This event marks an amazing milestone,” said Mahabeer. “This is a centennial and we are community building. In times such as these, it seems like we’re on borrowed time with Black History Month. I’m grateful that this could happen, and I’m grateful that you are all still invested in celebrating this culture and this tradition at Stony Brook.”
DICE will coordinate lectures, performances, panel discussions and other activities throughout February. Details can be found via SBEngaged or through Stony Brook University’s Black History Month website.
