Black History Month has been held in February since the 1970’s. The reasoning for Black History Month being in February is because it is the birth month of two figures who created impact in the black past (such as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln who was born February 12), who issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Also, Frederick Douglass (who was born February 14), known as an African American abolitionist, author, and orator. Since their deaths (in 1865 and 1895) the black community has celebrated their presence to African American liberation and civil rights to their birthdays. It began as “Negro History Week” in February, but Carter G. Woodson (who pioneered the field of African American studies in the early 20th century) sought to honor both Lincoln and Douglass for not only their accomplishments, but also the history and achievements of black people in general.

As early as the 1940’s, some communities turned February into “Negro History Month” due to the ascendance of the American Civil Rights Movement and the rise of black consciousness in the 1960’s. Negro History Week has become Black History Month in more and more places. In 1976 the association that Woodson had founded (later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) facilitated the widespread institutionalization of February as Black History Month. U.S. President Gerald Ford decided to make it an American tradition as well. All other subsequent presidents would do the same, sometimes even referring to the event as National Afro-American (Black) History Month or National African American History Month.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-black-history-month-celebrated-in-february