Black History Month and Proclamation Event

Held at the NC Executive Mansion on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

Pamela Cashwell, Secretary of the NC Dept. of Natural & Cultural Resources, introduces the people who have shaped NC for Black History month.

Featured speakers: Dr. Valerie Johnson, chair of the NC African American Heritage Commission; Dr. Amber M. Baker, NC Representative; Gerry McCants, chairman of the Greensboro MWBE Community Relations Steering Committee; Governor Josh Stein.

Governor Josh Stein signed the proclamation:

Whereas, Black History Month reminds us of our responsibility to honor the contributions and achievements of African Americans and their pivotal role in shaping our state and nation; and

Whereas, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, first launched “Negro History Week” in 1926, and is widely regarded as the father of Black History; and

Whereas, North Carolina is home to the largest number of four-year, degree-granting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the nation and more HBCU students than any other state; our ten HBCUs have a rich heritage steeped in tradition, activism, service, and innovation dating back to the foundation of Shaw University in 1865; and

Whereas, the labor of Black people in the military, government, and private sectors has been instrumental in shaping our society; and

Whereas, in the early twentieth century, Durham founded “Black Wall Street,” a nationally recognized business district propelled by African American businessmen including John Merrick, Dr. Aaron Moore, C.C. Spaulding, R.B. Fitzgerald, and W.G. Pearson, that provided critical support to Black entrepreneurship; and

Whereas, the percentage of Black-owned businesses in North Carolina exceeds the national average; and

Whereas, African Americans in North Carolina’s government workforce serve in vital roles across state agencies and universities in service to the residents of the state and represent 30 percent of North Carolina state government employees; and

Whereas, the theme for Black History Month in 2025 is “African Americans and Labor,” as designated by The Association for the Study of African American Life & History, which sets out to highlight and celebrate the transformative impact of African American labor in the United States that has shaped the life, culture, and history of our nation;

Now, therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim February 2025, as “black history month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this sixth day of February in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

The North Carolina General Assembly created the African American Heritage Commission (AAHC) in 2008 to “assist the Secretary of Cultural Resources in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of African American history, arts, and culture.” With this legislation the AAHC has identified African American heritage practitioners, such as curators, docents, and museum directors, as priority service populations.

The AAHC was recognized as a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in 2017, after being housed in the the Office of Archives and History and the North Carolina Arts Council. The commission works across the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to achieve the mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting North Carolina’s African American history, art, and culture, for all people.