During Black History Month, AutoInformed salutes contributions made by those of color to our nation. American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week with its first celebration on 12 February 1926. For years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the second week of February marked this celebration by aligning with the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, as part of the nation’s bicentennial, the week became a month in February.
Would black history month exist with a potential reign of Donald Trump as president? His candidacy seems to assault people of color with one rant after another and plays fast and loose with the constitution.
The number of blacks, according to Census, either alone or in combination with one or more other races as of July 2014 is up 1.3% from July 2013 at 45.7 million. The projected black, either alone or in combination, population of the United States (including those of more than one race) for July 2060 would constitute 17.9% of the nation’s total population at 74.5 million.
The number of black veterans in 2014 – and they bled the same red as any wounded or killed soldier – was 2.2 million.
The number of black-owned firms, stands at 2.6 million, which includes repair and maintenance (automotive, consumer electronics, etc.) and personal/laundry services (hair/nail salons, dry cleaning, pet care) — the largest sector of black-owned businesses. The “other services” sector is followed by health care and social assistance (492,983 black-owned firms); administrative, support, waste management and remediation (294,977); professional, scientific and technical support (206,942); and transportation and warehousing (184,777).
More than 66% blacks voted in the 2012 presidential election, higher than the 64.1% of non-Hispanic whites who did so. This marks the first time that blacks have voted at a higher rate than whites since the Census Bureau started publishing statistics on voting by the eligible citizen population in 1996.
