Did Trump cancel Black History Month? Viral rumor explained

On Monday, January 27, Tariq Nasheed - an American film producer and internet personality - tweeted about Trump:

"Trump is NOT getting rid of Black History Month. This is another Democrat scare tactic narrative to get Foundational Black Americans riled up."

Nasheed's tweet has joined multiple others in spreading the rumor that Trump is canceling Black History Month. However, the rumor has already been debunked, since a Times Now News article confirmed on January 24 that Trump had issued no such order.

Per the media outlet, the claim first surfaced on social media from Mark S. Zaid - a whistleblower attorney who worked on national security cases. Mark claimed on X that the 47th President had ordered the end of the DEI policies and that as part of this order, all agencies and federal workers were asked not to celebrate Black History Month this coming February.

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Black History Month was started as a Negro History Week in February 1926

What is today observed as Black History Month every year in February, is a nearly a century-old tradition, according to Britannica. It was started by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) - which he founded in 1915 with four others.

The tradition was initially only a week long, organized in an attempt to draw greater attention to African American history. Moving forward, two other leaders from the Black community - Abraham Lincoln, born February 12, and Frederick Douglass, born February 14 - were born in the month.

After their deaths, the Black community began celebrating their contributions on their birthdays. The celebration eventually expanded to include not only the great leaders but all achievements made by Black people in general.

The first time when Negro History celebration transformed into a month was in the 1940s. Nearly 35 years later, Woodson's association facilitated the widespread institutionalization of February as Black History Month.

Times Now News also reports that President Gerald Ford was the first leader to urge the country to participate in the celebration. Every president who has followed has continued the tradition.

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Trump talked about two genders in his inauguration speech

Another executive order Trump signed since joining office last week that has taken social media by storm is regarding gender. The 47th President spoke in his presidential speech:

"As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."

Trump's intention behind the order was to withdraw several initiatives made towards preventing discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. While Joe Biden had worked for the recognition and visibility of the LGBTQIA+ people, Trump appears to have no intentions of doing so.

One of Trump's executive orders is titled, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

It reiterates that the policy within the US has always been to recognize two sexes - male and female. It further elaborates that gender identity has no direct association with one's biological reality and sex.

The LGBTQIA+ is an umbrella term that covers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual persons, with the "+" at the end representing other identities not included here. The 78-year-old's order says:

"Ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers."

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Meanwhile, whether the rumor affects the celebration of Black History Month or not remains to be seen.