Since 1976, February has presidentially been proclaimed Black History Month in the United States, although the celebrations began long before. 

But why February? 

Celebrations began in this month that hold the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1818) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809), both key individuals involved with the Emancipation of slaves during the American Civil War.  

As February comes to a close, the Border Heritage Department would like to highlight just a small fraction of that history here in El Paso.