architecture, culinary and 

other forms of cultural 

expression, the African 

American influence has been 

paramount. African American 

artists have used art to 

preserve history and 

community memory, as well 

as for empowerment. In 

2024, we examine the varied 

history and life of African 

American arts and artisans.” 

commemoration of Black 

History Week to Black 

History Month, also known 

as African American History 

Month. In the same year, 

President Ford issued a 

proclamation declaring the 

Observance of Black 

History Month. 

In 1986, Congress passed 

Public Law 99-244, which 

designated February as 

“National Black (AfroAmerican) History Month.” 

In the following years, 

presidents continued to 

issue messages honoring 

Black History Month. 

The ASALH has announced 

that the theme for 2024 

Black History Month is 

“African Americans and the 

Arts.” 

“African American art is 

infused with African, 

Caribbean, and the Black 

American lived 

experiences,” the ASALH 

stated. “In the fields of 

visual and performing arts, 

literature, fashion, folklore, 

language, film, music 

Each year, Americans 

observe Black History 

Month in February, by 

celebrating the 

contributions and 

achievements that African 

Americans have made 

throughout U.S. history. 

Black History Month’s 

origin began in 1915, 

when historian and author 

Dr. Carter G. Woodson 

founded the Association for 

the Study of Negro Life 

and History, which is now 

known as the Association 

for the Study of African 

American Life and History 

(ASALH). Through this 

organization, Dr. Woodson 

initiated the first Negro 

History Week in February 

1926. 

In 1975, President Ford 

issued a proclamation 

declaring the Observance 

of Black History Week, 

urging all Americans to 

“recognize the important 

contributions made to our 

nation’s life and culture by 

black citizens.” In 1976, 

ASALH expanded the 

History of Black History Month 

Inside this issue: 

The Harlem Renaissance 2 

Influential Black Artists 

Throughout History 

3 

Resources 4 

EEO Contact Information 4 

Observances 5 

EEO Mission 5 

FEB 2024 

Defense Logistics 

Agency Distribution 

EEO 

Facts About Black 

History Month 

 Black History Month

is celebrated in

February in

recognition of the

birthdays of

Abraham Lincoln and

Frederick Douglas.

 Hattie McDaniel was

the first Black person

to win an Oscar.

 Thurgood Marshall

was the first Black

justice to serve in the

U.S. Supreme Court.

 Stevie Wonder was

the first Black artist to

win a Grammy

Award for Album of

the Year.

BLACK HISTORY 

MONTH 

The ASALH’s poster for 2024 

Black History Month: “African 

Americans and the Arts.” 
Page 2 Black History Month 

The Harlem Renaissance 

The Harlem Renaissance 

was the development of 

the Harlem neighborhood 

in New York City as a 

Black Cultural mecca in the 

early 20th century and the 

subsequent social and 

artistic explosion that 

resulted. 

The Harlem neighborhood 

was originally meant to be 

an upper-class white 

neighborhood in the 1880s. 

However, rapid 

overdevelopment led to 

empty buildings and 

desperate landlords 

seeking to fill them. So, in 

the early 1900s, a few 

middle-class Black families 

from another neighborhood 

moved to Harlem, and 

other Black families 

followed. Some white 

residents initially fought to 

keep African Americans out 

of the area, but they failed 

and left the neighborhood. 

Many outside factors led 

to a population boom in 

Harlem. From 1910 to 

1920, African American 

populations migrated in 

large numbers from the 

South to the North, with 

prominent figures like 

W.E.B. Du Bois leading 

what became known as the 

Great Migration. 

By 1920, some 300,000 

African Americans from the 

South had moved north, 

and Harlem was one of 

the most popular 

destinations for these 

families. 

This population shift 

resulted in a Black Pride 

movement, with leaders 

like Du Bois working to 

ensure that Black 

Americans got the credit 

they deserved for cultural 

areas of life. This led to a 

boom in Black culture, 

especially in the arts. 

The Harlem Renaissance 

was a golden age for 

African American artists, 

writers, and musicians. 

Many influential artists, 

writers, and musicians came 

from the Harlem 

Renaissance. Some of the 

artists, writers, and 

musicians during this time 

include Claude McKay, 

Jean Toomer, Charles 

Spurgeon Johnson, 

Langston Hughes, Zora 

Neal Hurston, Countee 

Cullen, Louis Armstrong, 

Duke Ellington, Bessie 

Smith, Paul Robeson, 

Josephine Baker James 

VanDerZee, and Marcus 

Garvey. 

The beginning of the end 

of the Harlem Renaissance 

began with the stock 

market crash of 1929 and 

The Great Depression. It 

wavered until Prohibition 

ended in 1933, which 

impacted uptown clubs. By 

1935, many pivotal 

Harlem residents had 

moved on to seek work. 

They were replaced by the 

continuous flow of refugees 

from the South. 

The Harlem Race Riot of 

1935, which left three 

dead, hundreds injured 

and millions of dollars in 

property damage, ended 

the era of the Harlem 

Renaissance. 

Still, The Harlem 

Renaissance’s impact lasted 

even after the era was 

over. The era gave artists 

pride in and control over 

how the Black experience 

was represented in 

American culture and set 

the stage for the civil rights 

movement. 

The Cotton Club, Harlem’s premier nightclub in the 1920s and 1930s. 

The club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers 

of the era.

Louis Armstrong and his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra 

perform at the Cotton Club in Harlem during the Harlem 

Renaissance. 
Edmonia Lewis 

(1844-1907) 

Edmonia Lewis, who 

also went by the name 

“Wildfire,” was an 

American sculptor who 

worked in a 

Neoclassical style, 

creating detailed 

marble sculptures. Her 

themes included stories 

from classical antiquity, 

as well as from the lives 

of Black and Native 

American people. One 

of her most famous 

works is a bust of the 

legendary Native 

American leader, 

Hiawatha. 

Aaron Douglas 

(1899-1979) 

Aaron Douglas was one 

of the most influential 

and well-known artists 

of the Harlem Renaissance. He was a 

painter, illustrator, 

portraitist, and muralist. 

He became known for 

incorporating African 

imagery into illustrations 

of modern scenes of 

music and dance. One 

of his most famous 

works, Congo, was 

done in an art deco 

style and depicts 

people dancing in a 

Congo line. 

Tina Turner 

(1939-2023) 

Tina Turner became one 

of the most influential 

musicians of all time. Her 

career began in the 

1960s, when Black 

female musicians were 

often regarded as trivial 

artists. Turner stood out 

as a figure of power, 

becoming the first 

female and the first 

Black artist to be 

featured on the cover of 

Rolling Stone magazine. 

She sang R&B, soul, 

rhythm-and-blues, and 

rock music. Her style and 

performances influenced 

other female musicians 

of all ethnic 

backgrounds. 

Bob Marley 

(1945-1981) 

Bob Marley is the most 

famous reggae singer of 

all time. His career 

began in the 1960s as 

the leader of The 

Wailers. His music 

helped spread a 

message of unity and 

peace in divided times, 

as Marley taught the 

world about the 

Rastafarian movement. 

Maya Angelou 

(1928-2014) 

Maya Angelou is an 

acclaimed American 

poet, author, and 

activist. She became a 

spokesman for African 

Americans and women 

as her works often 

depicted Black beauty, 

Influential Black Artists Throughout History 

Page 3 Black History Month 

the strength of women 

and the human spirit, 

and the demand for 

social justice. Her most 

famous work I know 

Why the Caged Birds 

Sings was published in 

1969 and became the 

first in seven 

autobiographies of 

Angelou’s life. Her first 

collection of poems Just 

Give Me a Cool Drink of 

Water ‘fore I Diiie was 

nominated for a Pulitzer 

Prize in 1972. 

Langston Hughes 

(1901-1967) 

Langston Hughes was a 

primary contributor of 

the Harlem Renaissance, 

where he was one of 

the first to use jazz 

rhythms in his works, 

becoming an early 

innovator of the literary 

art form jazz poetry. 

Hughes’ works 

showcased colorful 

portrayals of Black life 

from the 1920s-1960s 

by using language, 

themes, attitudes, and 

ideas that people could 

relate to. When his first 

novel Not Without 

Laughter was published 

in 1930, it won the 

Harmon gold medal for 

literature. Other Harlem 

Renaissance writer 

often dedicated their 

work to Hughes. 

A photo of Edmonia Lewis, 

taken in 1854. 

Tina Turner performing at a 

concert in Versailles, France, in 

1990. 

A photo of Langston Hughes, 

taken in 1959. 
https://www.weareteachers.com/black-history-month-facts/ 

https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/ 

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month 

https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/most-influential-black-musicians/ 

https://www.1000museums.com/celebrate-black-artists/ 

https://www.pbs.org/articles/10-black-authors-to-read 

https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance

Resources 

Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Equal Employment 

Opportunity Office

Complaints Team 

ddc.eeo@dla.mil 

JoAnn F. Schopman 

Supervisor, EEO Specialist 

Joann.Schopman@dla.mil 

Thomas (Tommy) E. Mcintyre 

Supervisor, EEO Specialist 

Thomas.McIntyre@dla.mil 

Michael Brown 

EEO Specialist 

Michael.Brown2@dla.mil 

Cynthia Allen 

EEO Specialist 

Cynthia.1.Allen@dla.mil 

Jerry Clements 

EEO Specialist 

Jerry.Clements@dla.mil 

Sander (Del) Sosatoledo 

EEO Specialist 

Sander.Sosatoledo@dla.mil 

Marcelo Figueroa 

EEO Specialist 

Marcelo.Figueroa@dla.mil 

William (Bill) Vacchiano 

EEO Specialist 

William.2.Vacchiano@dla.mil 

AEP Team 

distribution.ra.requests@dla.mil 

Melinda Torres 

Supervisor, EEO Specialist 

Melinda.Torres@dla.mil 

Cristina Rivera 

EEO Specialist 

Cristina.1.Rivera@dla.mil 

Laura B. D’Arca 

EEO Specialist 

Laura.D’Arca@dla.mil 

Richard Trick 

EEO Specialist 

Richard.Trick@dla.mil 

Bridgette R. Vaughn 

EEO Specialist 

Bridgette.Vaughn@dla..mil 

Kylie J. Young 

EEO Assistant 

Kylie.J.Young@dla.mil 

Page 4 Black History Month 

Carrie Cash 

DLA Distribution EEO Manager 

Carrie.Cash@dla.mil 
Page 5 Black History Month Page 5 

Observances 

Third Monday of January - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 

February - African American/Black History Month 

March - Women’s History Month 

 

May - Holocaust Remembrance Day/Days of Remembrance 

May - Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month 

June - Pride Month 

 26 August - Women’s Equality Day 

15 September to 15 October - National Hispanic Heritage Month 

October - National Disability Employment Awareness Month 

November - National American Indian Heritage Month 

Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity 

Vision 

Ensure consistent programs of equality, diversity and inclusion for all employees 

that empower the workforce to achieve their full potential and unify the 

workforce to achieve the mission. 

Mission 

Create a collaborative culture where the empowerment of a diverse workforce 

bolsters individual and organizational growth. 

Assist individual and organizational resiliency through programs and initiatives 

that attract, recruit, develop and retain the best talent as a mission necessity. 

Respond to all EEO complaints with the utmost respect ensuring confidentiality, 

neutrality, and adherence to prescribed regulatory guidance. 

Enhance education and awareness training efforts to promote a workplace free 

of unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 

age, physical or mental disability, or reprisal for personnel engaging in EEO 

protected activity. 

The Nation's Combat 

Logistics Support Agency 

DLA Distribution 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

& Diversity Office 

5430 Mifflin Avenue, 

Suite 2143 

New Cumberland, PA 

17070-5004 

EEO Director 

Carrie Cash 

Designer and Writer 

Kylie Young