WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump is set to sign a proclamation in honor of Black History Month, which is February, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
She shared the news Friday during a news conference after a reporter asked her about rumors that have been swirling in the news and on social media, with some saying Trump planned to “cancel” the annual observance.
“The president looks forward to signing the proclamation celebrating Black History Month,” she said Friday afternoon.
During the conference, the reporter spoke about a memo from the Defense Intelligence Agency that ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Black History Month.
According to reports, “the memo listed 11 observances that are now banned,” including Black History Month, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and other “special observances.” The memo also reportedly noted all affinity groups and “employee networking groups” were immediately on pause.
Trump signed multiple executive orders since taking office Jan. 20, including one that puts a halt to federal programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
That has led to a flurry of social media posts, with a Democratic state representative from Texas addressing it on X.
“While someone has tried to cancel Black history month that is NOT happening in our office,” U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett wrote on X last week.
But Leavitt said that is not the case.
“I actually spoke with our great Staff Secretary. It’s in the works of being approved and it’s going to be ready for the president’s signature to signify the beginning of that tomorrow,” she said of the Black History Month Proclamation.
Saturday marks the first day of Black History Month, as it is Feb. 1. It is a celebration of Black history, culture and education.
The history of the month dates back almost a century, and the way it is celebrated and evolved has created history in itself.
Black History Month wasn’t always a monthlong celebration. In February 1926, historian and author Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week. It was a weeklong celebration in an effort to teach people about African-American history and the contributions of Black people.
This effort was made under the umbrella of an organization he founded in September 1915 called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH.
“I think Black folks understood what they had contributed to America’s historical narrative, but no one was talking about it,” said Kaye Whitehead, the organization’s president. “No one was centralizing it until Dr. Carter G. Woodson was in 1926.”
After he passed away in 1950, the members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which Dr. Woodson was a member of, did a lot of groundwork to encourage celebrating the week. The fraternity was also responsible for the push to extend the celebrations to a full month. Eventually, in 1976, President Gerald Ford became the first president to issue a message recognizing the month.
Since then, presidents have made annual proclamations for National Black History Month, a tradition that Leavitt said Trump plans to continue.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
