EMILYs List Celebrates Black History Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today marks the beginning of Black History Month. The month began as a week-long celebration in 1926 by historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and was formally recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1975. Congress passed a law designating the entire month of February as Black History Month in 1986. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement recognizing the celebration: 

“EMILYs List is proud to celebrate Black History Month, honoring the enduring history of Black Americans who have shaped our nation’s history and culture. Celebrating their contributions has never been more important as we fight back against Republican attempts to whitewash and rewrite history. EMILYs List is proud to support the Black women leaders who are integral to the fabric of our communities and whose perspectives are critical in our government. We remain committed to amplifying their voices and celebrating their hard work advocating for the rights and freedoms of others, and we will continue to fight to ensure there are more Black women at every level of government. Black history has always been, and will always be, American history. We will work to ensure that their contributions will never be erased.”

###EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Over nearly 40 years, EMILYs List has raised nearly $950 million to help Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the most impactful independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 192 women to the House, 29 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,600 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.