THIS DAY IN VIRGINIA HISTORY
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February 13, 1944
Negro History Week Began
This poster announcing Negro History Week was published by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization, founded in 1915 by Virginia native Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950), and now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, organized the first Negro Achievement Week in 1924 and the first Black History Month in 1976. The image on this poster is from a portion of a famous painting
Battle at Bunker's Hill by John Trumbull (1756–1843). The poster incorrectly identifies the African American as Peter Salem, who is credited with having killed British major John Pitcairn at Bunker Hill. The image is more likely that of Lt. Thomas Grosvenor and his enslaved servant Asaba.