Fateful Friday – February 12, Abraham Lincoln

Fateful Friday

President Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. We often make the mistake of thinking Black History is limited to February; or that Black History only includes people who are Black. In fact, one of the reasons historian Carter G. Woodson selected February to be Black History Month (initially Negro History Week) was because it was the birth month of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was one of the most celebrated and revered presidents in our nation’s history. He was born in  Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln was a lawyer, by profession, but he went on to become one of our country’s greatest statesmen and orators.  Virtually everyone knows that Lincoln authored and issued the Emancipation Proclamation, the first draft of which he presented to his cabinet in September 1862, and the official version of which was issued in January 1863. The Proclamation went too far for some, and not far enough for others because it applied only to those states in rebellion from the Union. Nonetheless, it set in motion the political process that led to the abolition of slavery. Lincoln presided during the entire period of the Civil War and the passage and ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Under his leadership, the nation remained officially and legally united, but the issues and problems of slavery and its aftermath remained, to a large extent, unresolved and unaddressed. 

Heralded by many as a Civil Rights icon, Lincoln’s views and opinions about race were nuanced. He was a long-time advocate for the abolition of slavery; yet, he also espoused sentiments in favor of colonization. On balance, Lincoln earned the respect of most Blacks who honored him with political allegiance – by flocking to the Republican party in the late 19th and early 20th century – and with tributes. Several organizations, schools and institutions of higher education founded by and for Blacks have been named in honor of Lincoln. In fact, the Black National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” was first performed on Lincoln’s birthday in 1900 at an event in his honor. The song had been specifically written for the occasion by James Weldon Johnson and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. When Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, it marked to many a major stumble in the advancement of the rights of Black Americans.

President Lincoln was a major contributor to Black History, and for those contributions we should remind ourselves often and forcefully that Black History is American History and anyone, of any race, can contribute to it.

Charles M Christian, Black Saga: The African American Experience (1995)

Jessie Carney Smith, The Handy African American History Answer Book (2014)

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