Around The Railroad

Black History Month Celebrates Achievements in History, Society

January 18, 2008 | 01:45 p.m. CST

Employees systemwide are encouraged to celebrate Black History Month beginning Feb. 1, by participating in scheduled activities – sponsored by their local communities or Union Pacific's Black Employee Network (BEN) chapter – that recognize African Americans' contributions to history and society.

"Since BEN's establishment at UP, the organization has made valuable contributions, while helping the company drive various diversity initiatives," said Kenny Rocker, BEN president and assistant vice president-Ford Motor account. Like other affinity groups such as LEAD and LEN, BEN strives to promote personal and professional growth among its members, positively contribute to various company strategies and bring light to diversity issues, he said.

Actively involved in the community, BEN members provide scholarships locally to graduating seniors and encourage high school graduates to pursue post-secondary education. With 10 chapters systemwide and more than 500 members, BEN's positive influence in its communities continues to grow.

Scheduled Black History Month activities in Omaha include a tunnel display, a luncheon and an "Empower Omaha" seminar. See Omaha news for more details.

For additional information on BEN, go to the Employee site and visit the Black Employee Network.

About Black History Month

Black History Month can be traced to 1926, when Carter Godwin Woodson originated Negro History Week. Woodson, whose parents were former slaves, spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines. He began high school at age 20, graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard.

In his studies, Woodson discovered that history books largely ignored the black American population. He decided to take on the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's history. He established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) in 1915, and a year later founded the Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to black people's contributions throughout American history.

Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.