PHOENIX – Governor Doug Ducey proclaimed February 2022 to be Black History Month in Arizona to pay tribute to the achievements and contributions of our state’s African American community.

“Throughout Black History Month we will recognize the countless ways the African American community has influenced Arizona and the entire nation,” said Governor Ducey. “We will honor civil rights leaders by treating one another with respect and judging people on the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”

Black History Month was established in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford and has since been recognized by every U.S. President. Governor Ducey has issued a total of seven Black History Month proclamations.

Arizona’s history is full of leaders ahead of their time who have worked to ensure all Arizonans have equal rights. Trailblazers including Calvin C. Goode, the second African American elected to the Phoenix City Council in 1971, and champions of equality like Lincoln and Eleanor Ragsdale, who won their case against segregation a year before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education. Today, we have modern day heroes like Janelle Wood, who founded the Black Mothers Forum to create new and adaptive learning models where students can receive personalized support.

View a PDF of the proclamation HERE.

Text of the proclamation can be viewed below.

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WHEREAS, Black History Month is an annual opportunity to recognize the central role of African Americans in the history of our state and nation; and

WHEREAS, during Black History Month, we celebrate the many achievements and contributions of African Americans to our economic, cultural, spiritual, social, and political development; and

WHEREAS, the national commemoration of black history in the United States dates back to 1926, and was initially observed the second week in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass; and

WHEREAS, by the late 1960’s, the week had evolved into Black History Month, thanks in part to the Civil Rights movement and a growing awareness of the experiences of African Americans in our country; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”; and

WHEREAS, Black History Month was officially established in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford, who called on the public to, “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history,” and has since been recognized by every United States President; and

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona honors the significant contributions and advances made by African Americans in our state, across our nation, and throughout the world, in such areas as education, medicine, art, culture, public service, economic development, politics, and human rights; and

WHEREAS, we see the greatness of America in those who have risen above injustice and enriched our society.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Douglas A. Ducey, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim February 2022 as

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

and encourage all Arizonans to join in celebrating the contributions of African Americans to our state and nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona

GOVERNOR

DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this twenty-first day of January in the year Two Thousand and Twenty and of the Independence of the United States of America the Two Hundred and Forty-Sixth.

ATTEST:

SECRETARY OF STATE