Black History Month: Honoring Legacy, Preserving Memory, Shaping the Future

Every February, Black History Month invites us to reflect on the profound impact, resilience, and cultural contributions of African Americans throughout our nation’s history. What began as a focused effort to correct historical omissions has grown into a national observance that strengthens our collective understanding of identity, justice, creativity, and progress.

From Recognition to Preservation; From Week to Month

The Negro History Week was established in 1915 by historian Carter G. Woodson.

Black History Month traces its origins to 1915, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History established Negro History Week to highlight the overlooked achievements of Black Americans. Woodson selected February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two figures closely connected to the history of emancipation and civil rights.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, growing momentum from educators, students, and community leaders expanded the observance into a month-long commemoration. In 1976, the Black History Month received official federal recognition, encouraging Americans to honor the “too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

While the month often highlights well-known leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, Black history extends far beyond a few celebrated names. It is woven into neighborhoods, institutions, businesses, churches, artistic movements, and family legacies — many of which have historically gone undocumented or insufficiently protected.

Today, preservation has become just as important as celebration.

Preserving Los Angeles’ Black Heritage: The Role of the Getty

In Los Angeles, significant work is underway to safeguard the physical and cultural legacy of African American communities. One of the leading institutions involved in this effort is the J. Paul Getty Trust, through several of its divisions.

Documenting Historic Black Places

J. Paul Getty Trust and the USC School of Architecture jointly acquired an extraordinary collection of Paul R. Williams' work.

The Getty Conservation Institute has partnered with the City of Los Angeles on the African American Historic Places, Los Angeles project. This initiative focuses on:

• Identifying and documenting sites significant to Black history

• Expanding representation within the city’s Historic-Cultural Monument designations

• Engaging local communities to ensure preservation reflects lived experience

• Protecting culturally meaningful spaces from erasure

For decades, only a small fraction of Los Angeles landmarks formally recognized African American heritage. This project works to correct that imbalance by ensuring the built environment tells a fuller, more accurate story of the city. Preservation efforts extend beyond physical sites to the safeguarding of architectural and cultural archives.

Resilience by Design: Preserving the Enduring Legacy of Paul R. Williams

Paul R. Williams' portfolio includes the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel, the iconic Theme Building at LAX, and several private residences for Hollywood icons such as Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball.

In 1921, Paul R. Williams became the first Black architect licensed west of the Mississippi — a groundbreaking achievement in an era of profound racial barriers. Williams went on to design thousands of buildings, shaping the architectural identity of Los Angeles and beyond. What makes his story even more powerful? Williams learned to draw upside down, so that clients who refused to sit next to him could still see his vision across the table.

Some of Williams’ papers were believed to have been lost when a bank storing materials burned during the 1992 civil unrest following the Rodney King verdict. Fortunately, the majority of his archive had been stored elsewhere and survived. In 2020, the J. Paul Getty Trust and the USC School of Architecture jointly acquired an extraordinary collection of his work — including 35,000 architectural plans, 10,000 original drawings, blueprints, hand-colored renderings, vintage photographs, and professional correspondence.

This acquisition not only preserves Williams’ legacy but reinforces the broader mission of ensuring that Black contributions to Los Angeles’ cultural and architectural landscape are protected, studied, and integrated into the city’s enduring historical narrative.

Safeguarding Black Artistic Archives

Paul Revere Williams wasn’t just an architect. He was a pioneer who built legacies in concrete and steel.

Preservation is not only about buildings — it is also about memory and scholarship.

The Getty Foundation supports initiatives like the Black Visual Arts Archives program, which provides grants to institutions to catalogue, digitize, and expand access to archival collections related to Black artists. This ensures that creative contributions are preserved for researchers, students, and future generations.

Meanwhile, the Getty Research Institute advances the African American Art History Initiative, building collections, supporting scholarship, and broadening the narrative of American art history to include voices long overlooked.

Together, these efforts demonstrate that honoring Black history requires more than annual recognition — it requires sustained infrastructure, research, documentation, and protection.

Why This Matters Beyond February

Black History Month is not simply about remembrance; it is about continuity.

History lives in physical places, in archives, in oral histories, in art, and in community identity. When these are not preserved, communities lose tangible connections to their past. When they are protected, they provide grounding, pride, and intergenerational continuity.

In a city as dynamic and rapidly changing as Los Angeles, preservation efforts help ensure that development does not erase cultural memory. They reinforce the idea that Black history is not separate from American history — it is foundational to it.

Black History Month reminds us that the story is still being written. By investing in preservation, research, and inclusive storytelling, institutions and communities alike are ensuring that future generations inherit a fuller, richer understanding of the past — and a stronger foundation for the future.

Honoring Preservation Efforts that Safeguard Black Legacy in Los Angeles

The Compton Chamber of Commerce extends its sincere appreciation to the Getty Foundation and the broader J. Paul Getty Trust for their meaningful efforts to preserve and elevate Black contributions to the cultural and architectural landscape of Los Angeles.

Through research, archival preservation, and historic recognition initiatives, the Getty is helping ensure that the stories, structures, and creative legacies of African American Angelenos are protected for future generations. Safeguarding these narratives strengthens not only Los Angeles’ cityscape, but the broader understanding of our region’s shared history.

We commend the Getty for investing in preservation work that reflects inclusion, historical integrity, and community respect — and we thank them for helping to ensure that Black excellence remains a visible and enduring part of Southern California’s story.