On February 10, 2026, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved (6-0) a proclamation designating February 2026 as Black History Month. Commissioner Rogers read the proclamation, which carried special significance this year: the 2026 national theme is "A Century of Black History Commemorations," marking 100 years since Dr. Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week in 1926, which became Black History Month in 1986.
Douglas County officially proclaimed February 2026 as Black History Month under the national theme established by ASALH (the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). The federal proclamation was published February 6, 2026. The Douglas County proclamation referenced historical milestones including the Haitian Revolution (1791), end of the Atlantic slave trade (1808), the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and Juneteenth (1865).
This isn't just another annual proclamation. One hundred years ago, Dr. Carter G. Woodson — a historian, author, and the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University — established Negro History Week because he recognized that African American contributions were being systematically omitted from textbooks and public discourse. That one-week observance grew into a month-long national commemoration in 1986, and has since become one of the most recognized cultural observances in the United States. The AFRO American Newspapers traced the centennial significance, connecting Woodson's original vision to the global recognition the observance now commands.
The proclamation named individuals across generations whose contributions shaped American history: Maya Angelou, Arthur Ashe Jr., James Baldwin, Clara Brown, Ralph Bunche, Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Medgar Evers, Alex Haley, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Muhammad Ali, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Prince Rogers Nelson, the Greensboro Four, and the Tuskegee Airmen, among others.
Omaha has its own deep and complex history with race, housing, and community building. From North Omaha's historic neighborhoods to the ongoing investment in communities across the metro, the story of Black Omaha is woven into the city's identity. At Davis Contracting, Julius and Nadra Davis build custom homes and complete basement finishing projects across Omaha and the surrounding metro — and we're proud to be part of a community that takes the time to honor its history while building its future. Nebraska's own legislative resolution further reinforced the state's commitment to this year's centennial observance.
