One hundred years ago, Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week because the United States did not include accurate portrayals of Black Americans and their contributions. Woodson understood something that remains relevant today: “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”
Fast forward to February 2026. The week Woodson launched has become Black History Month, now marking its centennial year. But this milestone arrives at a moment of profound tension, when organized efforts at erasure confront the history Woodson fought to preserve.
For Indianapolis City-County Councilor Keith Graves (District 9), the moment demands honest reckoning.
“Frustrated as well as disheartened, because I think that somehow we allowed legislation to basically erase the momentum that we once had,” Graves told the Indianapolis Recorder. “We had the country’s first Black millionaire in this city. And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t see just tons of examples of her legacy around Indianapolis. We don’t see Black business or Black family names on buildings. We see Irsay, we see Eskenazi, we see Lucas, but we don’t see us.”
Graves, a financial advisor with more than 20 years of experience, points to the innovations rooted in Black history that often go unrecognized — Garrett Augustus Morgan with traffic lights, John Standard with refrigeration — and to the countless contributions “lost over the years and sometimes intentionally lost.”
Same ol’ movie
This centennial arrives amid an administration actively shrinking institutions that preserve and teach Black history. Following custom, President Trump issued a National Black History Month proclamation on Feb. 3, stating that “Black history is not distinct from American history.”
Yet critics note its rhetoric stands in tension with actions: federal agencies have deleted or revised Black history content in response to anti-DEI mandates, the National Park Service removed exhibits detailing the enslaved people George Washington held at the President’s House in Philadelphia, and thousands of federal datasets — including “racial and ethnic and identity data” — have been removed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
“It’s a moment where people understand that the nation is being damaged, that our future is being taken away, that the American Dream is being stolen,” National Urban League’s Marc H. Morial said, who grew up with Ku Klux Klan threats during the CivilRights era. “I’ve seen this movie before.”
Passing the torch
That generational urgency resonates locally. Indianapolis resident Dior Johnson, raising a Black daughter at this moment, understands what’s at stake.
“We talk a lot when we get in our circles about our experiences — it’s typically on the negative side,” Johnson said. “I want us to promote the positives that we brought to this country and to this world. There’s so much that we’ve talked about. These stories should be told.”
Johnson’s approach mirrors what experts say is essential: making Black history a year-round practice rather than a February-only observance. From reading books about astronaut Mae Jemison to discussing what it means to be a Black woman in America, these everyday conversations build what Woodson envisioned — a people who know their own story.
Allan Garnett IV carries a more personal connection to that legacy. His grandfather, Robert Bernad, was integral in helping establish the events and activations for the Indiana Black Expo and Circle City Classic. This organization has championed Black Hoosier achievement for decades. For Garnett, preserving that work means understanding the forces against it.
“When we see Black people succeeding, we see the forces … trying to avert that success,” Garnett said. “And so, we really have to band together.”
The next 100 years
Graves, who recently announced his reelection campaign focused on education, housing and mental health care, believes the path forward requires intentionality.
“We need to be focused on creating Black wealth again,” Graves told the Indianapolis Recorder. “Getting our minds wrapped around it and then protecting that — because again, when we see Black people succeeding, we see the forces that be trying to stop that success.”
The centennial theme — “A Century of Black History Commemorations” — invites reflection on how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, representing New York, frames it as a continuation of the fight led by ancestors of Black resilience, quoting the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis: “We remain inspired by the examples of those who got into ‘Good Trouble.’”
For Johnson, raising her daughter with cultural confidence means teaching her that “America has the potential to be a country that truly values diversity and justice. But the potential is only as good as the action powering it.”
Graves puts it more directly: “I want to hear the conversation about Black creativity and innovation more, Black people pushed to the top. We need to promote the positives we brought to this country and to this world.”
Contact Multimedia Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more news, visit indianapolisrecorder.com.
Noral Parham is the multi-media reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
