Presidents’ Day is observed the third Monday in February every year. It is a federal holiday honoring the current and former United States Presidents. Presidents’ Day became an official federal holiday in 1879, to give federal employees in the District of Columbia the day off. Formally, the holiday is called “Washington’s Birthday” to honor the first President George Washington whose birthday is on February 22nd. President Abraham Lincoln is also honored on Presidents Day, because his birthday is February 12th.
Presidents’ Day may look a little different for those in the Black community, many people believe that Barack Obama was the first and only Black man to run for president in the United States. However, that is not true in 1888 Frederick Douglass was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention; after his speech there was a roll call vote, and he received one vote which automatically made him a candidate for presidency. After voting and conversations it is said that “Douglass was never a true contender for presidency.”
In 1904, William Thomas Scott was selected to be a presidential candidate but was arrested for not paying a fine from a few years before. George Edwin Taylor was then picked to take Scott’s place, his campaign was unsuccessful, newspapers would not endorse his candidacy, and state laws kept his name from being officially listed on the ballots. Decades later at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Channing E. Phillips was placed a presidential candidate nominee, he received 67.5 votes. At the same convention, Horace Julian Bond was nominated for vice president, he was the first Black person to be nominated for vice president by a major political party. Bond had to withdraw from the race because he did not meet the age requirement. According to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, “the president must: Be a natural-born citizen of the United States. Be at least 35 years old. Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.”
In 1972, Shirley Chisolm became the first Black woman to run for president, she was a candidate for the Democratic party, she participated in the Democratic primaries in multiple states, she campaigned in 12 states and won 28 delegates. In 1984 & 1988 Jesse Jackson ran for president, he was also a candidate for the Democratic party. He was the first Black candidate to run nationwide primary campaigns and to win individual states. In 1984, he had around 3 million votes and around 7 million in 1988.
Barack Obama became president in 2008 and served two terms. Kamala Harris initially ran for president in the 2020 election but dropped out the race and started running alongside Joe Biden as vice president. She campaigned again as president but lost to President Trump. Since the beginning of time, Black people have tried their hand at running this country. As more efforts are being made, history is also being made.
