Trump names February 'African American History Month'

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On February 1, President Trump signed a proclamation declaring February 2017 as National African American History Month, suggesting to some that the official name for the celebratory month is no longer Black History Month.

TMZ reported that President Trump met with African American leaders and came to a consensus that the term "black" was outdated, and that the more appropriate way to refer to the community was "African American," according to senior administration official.

However, after reading through the Library of Congress's website, former presidents Obama and Clinton's proclamations also declared February as National African American History Month.

The month was once proclaimed as Black History Month in its inception, but its name has changed through the presidential terms. In fact, we can thank President Bill Clinton for that. 

The month got its origins in 1915. It wasn't until 1976, though, when President Ford issued the first message to observe Black History Month.

In fact, all presidents followed suit -- until 1996 when President Clinton proclamation first referred to it as National African American History Month instead. Since 1996, according to the Library of Congress, all presidents have issued annual proclamations for National African American History Month.

Many government documents prior to Clinton's 1996 proclamation also refer to the month as either National African American History Month or Afro-American History Month.

You can read more about Black History Month here at the Library of Congress's website, and see links to all of the mentioned presidential proclamations.

READ THE FULL WHITE HOUSE DOCUMENT HERE